Signs, cameras aim to halt illegal dumping

♦ The Litter and Blight Task Force also expects to emphasize hefty fines for offenders.

While they were going over signage to put up around the county, the Rome-floyd Litter and Blight Task Force members brought up how much a person could be charged for littering and illegal dumping.

According to Katheryn Walters, a code enforcement officer with Floyd County Police Department, a person could face a fine in the range of $200 to over $6,000 for littering, illegal dumping, illegal burning and other code violations.

Mai Lee Payne, who has been overseeing the signage project, said she could possibly include that in the signs to encourage people not to litter or dump waste around the county.

While many members said they recognize that littering is a behavioral and cultural problem around the county, they want to try and change that by putting up signage to remind people not to litter.

Walters said they find a lot of litter around the Walker Mountain Landfill, which they visit a few times a week to see if they find anyone is dumping items in the surrounding area. Another common place they find illegal dumps is near Blacks Bluff Road, where they have found people dumping trash into the river.

Resident Earnest Simpson said he finds a lot of trash and old tires around Jackson Hill and Blossom Hill when he goes on his runs. He went on to say that, as a citizen, he’d like to find a way to clean up that area and dispose of the tires and other items properly without being charged any kind of fee.

Task force members told Simpson to talk to Emma Wells from Keep Rome-floyd Beautiful about arranging one or more community cleanups.

Recently, hunting cameras have been a key tool for code enforcement officers to use while trying to track down who’s littering. County Commissioner Allison Watters said they could have more cameras set up around Walker Mountain Landfill to capture vehicle descriptions and license plates, so that officers can find who are the ones littering and dumping in the area.

Toward the end of the meeting, Ralph Davis said they will ask someone from the Solid Waste Department or Public Works to come in and discuss putting up cameras and signage around the landfill and other areas.