County working to clean up with education, not penalties

Justin Arnold knew he bought a mess about two years ago, but he was willing to clean it up.

Arnold said he bought 2.7 acres next to his mother’s home between Gravette and Sulphur Springs, about 20 miles northwest of Bentonville. The land had fallen into disarray with trash, tires, two old mobile homes and other debris strung across the property, he said.

A friend noticed an officer on the property one day and called Arnold, who asked that his phone number be passed along to the officer. That was his initial encounter with the Benton County Environmental Division.

Arnold, with the help of friends, cleaned the property, but it took almost two years and cost him between $3,000 and $4,000, he said. The Environmental Division stayed in contact with him, sending photos of what needed to be done.

“I didn’t make the mess, but I manned up and cleaned it the best I could,” Arnold said. “I made little bits of progress. The place was trashed, but now I have 3 acres of hay, basically.”

His environmental case is closed, and he said he was happy with the guidance the county gave him.

“They were completely understanding,” he said. “Maybe, if I had sat on my butt and did nothing, it would have been different. They worked with me.”

Teresa Sidwell, division manager, said officers want to educate and work with residents and not issue citations. The division issued 31 citations this year through September, she said.

The division has closed 304 cases so far in 2019 with another 51 under investigation through September. It usually closes between 300 and 350 cases a year, Sidwell said.

More than 70% of the cases the Environmental Division has worked this year involved some form of illegal dumping, according to a report Sidwell provided to county officials in August.

Officer Tim Filbeck works the west side of Interstate 49 and an area near Lowell. Officer Merced Cervantes works the east side of the interstate including the lake and Rogers, Sidwell said.

Washington County has focused on cleaning up roadside dumps this year, said Andrew Coleman, the county environmental officer. Staff members have found 137 illegal dumps along county rights of way this year through mid-September, he said.

Almost all the dumps involve bulky items, so there isn’t any trash to identify who dumped it, Coleman said.

Washington County contracts with the Boston Mountain Solid Waste District to clear away the dumps, he said.

Sandy Smith, deputy director of the solid waste district, said her office sends a truck at least once a week to pick up trash dumped on public right of way.

Robyn Reed, the district’s director, said the district concentrates on cleaning illegal environmental health hazards such as burning trash and solid waste disposal. The district has one environmental officer. Through the end of July, there were 296 complaints and 217 had been closed, Reed said.

IN THE KNOW

Environmental officers prefer to educate residents about proper trash disposal and give violators a chance to clean up debris, Sidwell said.

Sometimes education can be subtle, such as informing Benton County residents the county’s convenience centers are in Centerton, Rogers and Siloam Springs.

Other times, education can be more direct such as installing “No Dumping” signs, doing extra patrols in areas where dumping happens and putting up surveillance cameras. The signs in Benton County say dumping is illegal and provide the division’s phone number, Sidwell said.

In the case of Frisco Springs Road where it deadends into Beaver Lake, a 55-gallon trash can has made the most difference, Sidwell said.

“That has really cut back on the amount of trash on the ground and on the shore of the lake,” she said.

In August the Benton County agency had no reports of illegal dumps — the first time that’s happened in Sidwell’s eight years with the district, she said.

Sidwell knows some people will illegally dump items no mater what. Most dumps happen on a dirt road and in an area with few or no homes, she said. Some people dump with a camera in plain sight, she said.

Benton County also deals with residents who let mattresses, couches, refrigerators or other items pile up on their property. The county usually gives offenders 30 days to clean the mess. Extensions can be given if progress is being made, Sidwell said.

Cases where education doesn’t work can end up in district courts in Bentonville, Rogers and Gentry after a citation is issued. Environmental crimes are misdemeanors, according to the Benton County prosecuting attorney’s office.

Filbeck said the division is complaint-driven. Staff members have to verify a violation and devise a plan for cleanup, he said.

Citations can come when a site hasn’t been cleaned within 30 days or when someone tries to burn the waste to get rid of it.

People who have to clean their property get more time to reach compliance than someone who illegally dumps debris along a road, Filbeck said. Those offenders, usually identified by something in the dumped trash such a home address, get 14 days to clean the site.

Sometimes an environmental officer may choose to write a citation and tell the violator it will be changed to a warning if a cleanup is finished by a deadline, Sidwell said.

“We hope to keep educating people, and they will learn where to take these things, and the dumping will slow down,” she said.