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KDHE outlines illegal-dump cleanup program: up to $10,000/site, 75% state match
Summary
A KDHE program manager told the Hillsboro council KDHE can provide up to $10,000 per illegal-dump site with a 75%/25% match and said the city can meet its 25% with in-kind services; KDHE requires local consent and can issue administrative orders if voluntary compliance fails.
Toby of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) described the state'run illegal-dump (solid-waste) cleanup program and how the city can use it to remediate nuisance properties.
Toby (speaker S8) said the program is "authorized by state statute" and typically allows KDHE to spend up to $10,000 per site, using a 75% KDHE / 25% city match. He explained the city's 25% may be met in-kind (use of public-works crews and equipment billed at FEMA rates) rather than cash. Toby outlined the three-step approach: voluntary compliance (meet with the property owner and provide options and receipts), contractual assistance (KDHE provides roll-offs and reimbursement arrangements) and enforcement via KDHE administrative orders if owners refuse to cooperate. "If none of those approaches work or the person just says, 'it's my property,' a lot of those end up into enforcement," Toby said, describing the administrative-order process.
Council members asked about capacity and timing; Toby said his statewide caseload limits throughput and that a typical KDHE cleanup timeline can be about four months depending on voluntary compliance and fiscal-year funding. He asked the city to submit KDHE's request form to start involvement. There was no formal council motion recorded at this presentation; staff and council indicated intent to use staff authority to begin the intake process if appropriate.
