Sonoma County Department of Health Services Environmental Health Division

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Diana Gomez, Assistant District Attorney, (707) 565-2437
Melissa Kelley, Keep Sonoma Clean, (707) 537-8783

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SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM CATCHES ANOTHER SCOFFLAW
“Keep Sonoma Clean” effort prevents spread of disease, protects environment

January 11, 2010 – Santa Rosa, CA – Keep Sonoma Clean, a multi-agency Sonoma County program that cracks down on illegal dumping, has successfully used surveillance cameras to bring another violator to court. A motion-activated surveillance camera captured Jose Diaz Lopez dumping commercial quantities of material at an illegal dump site in the West County. Lopez was brought to trial and sentenced to 80 hours of community service, a $400 fine, and a $100 restitution fee.

Diana Gomez, assistant district attorney, says the Sonoma County Department of Transportation and Public Works essentially broke this case. “The road crew discovered the dump site and retrieved images from the surveillance camera of the truck involved in this crime. These images were disseminated to all Public Works employees. One of the employees recognized the truck and forwarded the license plate number to the Sheriff. When the Sheriff contacted the registered owner of the vehicle, he admitted that he was the person responsible for the dumping.”

Gomez adds: “This case was a collaborative effort between Sonoma County Public Works Department, the Sheriff and our office to investigate and prosecute illegal dumping. There is simply no excuse for dumping your garbage by our roads and waterways and allowing it pollute our environment.”

New disposal options relevant to the West County should help reduce illegal dumping in these communities. North Bay Corporation now offers all residents in the Unincorporated County free bulky item pickup four times each year. Bulky item pickup also is available in Healdsburg, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Windsor.

“North Bay Corporation wants to do its part to discourage illegal dumping,” explained Pam Davis, public affairs officer for North Bay Corp. “By offering bulky item pickup in unincorporated areas of our community, we make it convenient for people to discard appliances and other large items responsibly.”

Sonoma County offers numerous options for recycling or discarding unwanted items that are inexpensive or even free to residents. Legal disposal options include the following:

• Donating saleable items to thrift stores or other charities
• Dropping off unwanted items at County Refuse Disposal Sites
• Participating in Community Cleanup events in designated areas
• Curbside recycling and garbage collection, including bulky item pickup in some localities.

For complete information about proper disposal or recycling of unwanted goods, consult the Keep Sonoma Clean Web site at www.KeepSonomaClean.org. To report an illegal dump site, visit the Web site or call 877-565-DUMP (3867).

Keep Sonoma Clean is a cooperative effort between the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, Environmental Health Division; the Sonoma County Department of Transportation and Public Works, and the Sonoma County Sheriff, and is funded by a grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board. Zero Waste – You Make It Happen!