does anyone know how to get the city to clean up an illegal dump site?

[missy]

hi all-
my son is playing baseball this year at the lobo little league fields. once a week, i try to fill a random plastic bag with trash in the parking lot (there is a lot) and last week while i was doing it i found a big ol' dump site full of smushed cardboard boxes, mattresses, a sofa, and all kinds of items ancillary to such usage. i think it is coming from furniture row on menaul--at least it looks like it is--and then it is being used by whomever for whatever in the dump site (yuck).

i called 242-COPS and they actually came out, looked at the site, and said they didn't handle that kind of thing (?--i thought illegal dumping was just that...illegal); i called parks and recreation and they said to call the cops again. i called the city dump and they said they didn't handle clean up, just dumping.

does anyone have any clues as to where to start with this? i really don't want kids--mine or others--playing around this spot.

thanks!

[Rick O!]

Illegal dumping issues are handled by the Environmental Health Department of the City and/or County depending upon whether the dumping is taking place within city limits or in unincorporated areas of the county. I can't speak directly about illegal dumping within city limits, but as a former Environmental Health Scientist within the Bernalillo County Office of Environmental Health, one of my primary duties was dealing with illegal dumping issues. Unfortunately, getting anything cleaned up is difficult, unless you have a cooperative land owner. This is because the ultimate responsibility for cleaning up illegal dumped trash lies with the land owner, it is the responsibility of the land owner to properly maintain and secure their property and to ensure it complies with all city and/or county codes. The problem with illegal dumping in the county (especially on the southwest mesa) is that many of the land owners are out of state corporations or individuals who don't care at all about the property and are oblivious to the activities taking place on, and the conditions of, the land.

So what can the County do? If the County is able to find out who the owner is (not always so easy) and can get a hold of them or send them a letter informing them of the condition of the property, then the dumping may or may not get cleaned up. The County does have the option of taking the property owner to court, where the property owner may get fined. Finally, if none of this works, the County can place a lien on the property, with the stipulation that the lien will be removed once the illegal dumping issues are taken care of,

Getting a small bit of illegally dumped trash picked up might be easy, but solving the huge problem of illegal dumping in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County will be impossible without money, more stringent laws, enforcement and punishment, and don't forget significant time and effort for everyone involved.

To get a good feel on how bad the problem is I suggest driving around the southwest mesa on any given day. Drive out to the dunes and back and you'll be sure to see hundreds if not thousands of piles of illegally dumped crap. Don't forget to stop by this giant pile of illegally dumped tires that I tried and failed to get cleaned up while at the County. Imagine the wonderful cloud of goodness this tire pile will create once it catches on fire, who needs clean air anyway...not our kids I guess. The corporate land owner was/is oblivious in California and the people living on the property with the tires were/are living there illegally. Don't get me started on their illegal septic system and water well, but hell, it's their choice to drink their own waste.

KOB and Jeremy Jojola did a story on this problem in January, the video in the story really gives you a sense of how crazy this problem is and how dangerous the people can be who take part in these illegal activities.

[missy]

okay, that is just flat-out scary. kudos to you for trying to take on such a job (and to jeremy)! the irony of that behemoth tire pile is that it is located on john muir drive--now that's just completely wrong.

this particular site is nowhere near that bad, and i am almost 100% positive the land is actually owned by the city--at least it is managed by parks and recreation so i believe that makes it city property. i wonder if that makes it easier or harder to get it cleaned up?

[Rick O!]

You would think it would make it easier, and I hope so, but city departments working with city departments? Does that actually happen?

[Coco]

Lobo Little League field improvements were undertaken by the Bernalillo County Parks and Recreation Department. They are in Commissioner Archuleta's district. I'd call the County .

[missy]

okay, so i chose the route of shaming the city into action. after too many phone calls to various city agencies i went with ilana gold and the channel 7 team. allegedly, the site will be cleaned up today--i will most definitely be checking to see that it is! thanks so much to everyone who helped with this issue.

if you are interested, the video of ilana's story of the dump site is here.

[jeff]

i caught that on tv last night - nice job. i also noticed another story that was clearly lifted from dcf too...

[jeff]

the other story was the chalk 'graffiti' on the sidewalk.
scandelous huh?

[jeff]

fallen fruit.

that KB story was really lame - they missed the opportunity to educate or contextualize by providing some historical background on how merchant developers have dealt with a recession or slow down or whatever....

but not being on the news biz, i've always wondered how they got their tips anyways.