Sampson County updates solid-waste ordinance, approves spill-coordination policy and $25,000 rapid-response fund
Loading...
Summary
The board voted to adopt an updated solid-waste ordinance and a spill coordination policy aimed at repeated animal-waste road spills; the county also approved a fee schedule and a $25,000 line item to pay cleanup contractors when responsible parties cannot be identified.
Sampson County commissioners on Feb. 2 adopted an updated solid-waste ordinance and an accompanying spill coordination policy to address repeated animal-waste spills on county roads. The package includes stronger transporter requirements, a formalized response protocol and a fee schedule to recover county costs, and a proposed doubling mechanism on penalties for repeat offenders.
Paul Allen, the county attorney, said the ordinance clarifies precedence among existing local ordinances and upgrades Article 7 (solid-waste transportation) to require containment measures and sealing standards for animal-waste transporters. "We wanted to create an ordinance to address it in a robust fashion," Allen said, adding the policy (Article 12) is intended to be a living document that county staff can update as needed.
Rick Sauer, Emergency Services director, summarized the spill coordination workflow: 911 dispatches first responders and at least one county staff member; responders determine whether the transporter is present and pursue enforcement or identification if the transporter left the scene; a cleanup contractor is called as soon as possible to reopen roadways. Sauer said the procedure has been followed twice already this month and led to identifying transporters and issuing citations.
Commissioner Van and others emphasized the collaborative development of the policy with industry stakeholders, the sheriff's office, fire departments, GFL and state agencies. The board approved the ordinance, the fee schedule and a $25,000 line item to let county staff immediately hire cleanup contractors when no responsible party can be identified; when the county identifies a violator it will seek reimbursement and bill equipment/first-responder costs back to responsible parties or insurers.
The motion to adopt the ordinance and fee schedule passed by raised hands; a subsequent motion to allocate $25,000 for rapid response also passed.
Next steps: county staff will implement the fee and billing procedures with the finance department and coordinate operating details with fire departments and emergency services.
