10.1-1418.1 - Improper disposal of solid waste; civil penalties.
§ 10.1-1418.1. Improper disposal of solid waste; civil penalties.
A. It shall be the duty of all persons to dispose of their solid waste in alegal manner.
B. Any owner of real estate in this Commonwealth, including the Commonwealthor any political subdivision thereof, upon whose property a person improperlydisposes of solid waste without the landowner's permission, shall be entitledto bring a civil action for such improper disposal of solid waste. Whenlitter is improperly disposed upon land owned by the Commonwealth, anyresident of the Commonwealth shall have standing to bring a civil action forsuch improper disposal of solid waste. When litter is improperly disposed ofupon land owned by any political subdivision of this Commonwealth, anyresident of that political subdivision shall have standing to bring a civilaction for such improper disposal of solid waste. When any person improperlydisposes of solid waste upon land within the jurisdiction of any politicalsubdivision, that political subdivision shall have standing to bring a civilaction for such improper disposal of solid waste.
C. In any civil action brought pursuant to the provisions of this section,when the plaintiff establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that (i)the solid waste or any portion thereof had been in possession of thedefendant prior to being improperly disposed of on any of the propertiesreferred to in subsection A of this section and (ii) no permission had beengiven to the defendant to place the solid waste on such property, there shallbe a rebuttable presumption that the defendant improperly disposed of thesolid waste. When the solid waste has been ejected from a motor vehicle, theowner or operator of such motor vehicle shall in any civil action be presumedto be the person ejecting such matter. However, such presumption shall berebuttable by competent evidence. This presumption shall not be applicable toa motor vehicle rental or leasing company that owns the vehicle.
D. Whenever a court finds that a person has improperly disposed of solidwaste pursuant to the provisions of this section, the court shall assess acivil penalty of up to $5,000 against such defendant. All civil penaltiesassessed pursuant to this section shall be paid into the state treasury anddeposited by the State Treasurer into the Virginia Environmental EmergencyResponse Fund pursuant to Chapter 25 (§ 10.1-2500 et seq.) of this title,except as provided in subsection E.
E. Any civil penalty assessed pursuant to this section in a civil actionbrought by a political subdivision shall be paid into the treasury of thepolitical subdivision, except where the violator of this section is thepolitical subdivision or its agent.
F. A court may award any person or political subdivision bringing suitpursuant to this section the cost of suit and reasonable attorney's fees.
(1990, c. 430; 1991, c. 718; 1992, c. 27; 1997, c. 353.)