Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Illegal Dumping topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Department outlines plan to crack down on illegal dumping and more than 200 unpermitted haulers
Summary
Nashville Waste Services told the Solid Waste Subcommittee it has identified over 200 unpermitted haulers and plans to implement e-permitting, send notice letters with 30/60/90 compliance windows, and begin citation enforcement after legal training; staff said citation writing training is expected in early July and ITS work in roughly four weeks.
Committee members pressed Nashville Waste Services about illegal dumping and unpermitted private haulers during the Solid Waste Subcommittee meeting. Matt Purvis said the department currently maintains a list of over 200 unpermitted haulers and is working with Metro ITS to integrate permitting online with a single e-permit portal.
Purvis described a staged enforcement plan: once ITS completes integration and legal staff completes citation training, the department will send compliance letters to unpermitted operators, provide a 30/60/90-day window to obtain permits, and then begin issuing citations. "As soon as we are ready to take new permits, I'm going to be sending a lot of letters out," Purvis said; he added legal training for citation writing is expected in early July and ITS bandwidth would make the portal development possible in about four weeks.
On penalties, Purvis said the code provides a $50-per-day-per-offense citation and explained how multiple trucks or dumpsters could multiply exposure to daily penalties; one council member contrasted that approach with more typical codes practice (single-charge enforcement). The group also discussed working with codes and potentially the state to close loopholes landowners might use to justify dumping under agricultural or fill exemptions.
Purvis said enforcement and compliance are also fiscal: currently some illegal locations are not paying standard disposal fees, which allows them to undercut legitimate operators. He noted the county charges per-ton and per-cubic-yard fees for municipal solid waste and construction and demolition material; staff said these fees are owed by anyone collecting or disposing of county-originating waste.
Next steps: the department will work with Metro ITS on e-permit integration, begin outreach letters once systems are ready, conduct citation training with legal, and coordinate enforcement with codes and state agencies as needed.
