Laws and Enforcement Resources

• Enforcement and Prosecution Guide (.pdf)
  Contains many important resources on setting up enforcement programs, overview of how citations and the courts work, benefits and drawbacks of various approaches, and examples from across the country of programs
• Collaboration Guide (.pdf)
  Resources for affiliates, local governments and other stakeholders on best to work together to reduce litter and illegal dumping in their community.
• Model Illegal Dumping and Litter Control Ordinance (from KAB.org)
  A great starting point for a municipality or county that wishes to create a local anti-dumping and litter law.
• Pennsylvania Littering and Illegal Dumping Laws
• Pennsylvania Enforcement Agencies

Act 62 (2018) and Litter Enforcement Corridors

Signed into law in June 2018, Act 62 added increased fines for roads designated for stronger litter enforcement along with adding community service to monetary fines for first time-offender penalties. The act also created Litter Enforcement Corridors, a new tool to help Pennsylvania crack down on litter and illegal dumping.

Signing of Senate Bill 431, now Act 62 of 2018 on January 30, 2019. From Left to Right: Alex Charlton (Former Rep.), Chris Barrett (President/CEO, Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau), Christine Zubeck (Office of Senator Scavello), Rep. Marcia Hahn, Dave McCorkle (Keep PA Beautiful Board Member), Senator Mario Scavello, Governor Tom Wolf, Shannon Reiter (President, Keep PA Beautiful) Courtesy of http://www.senatorscavello.com/2019/02/08/bill-signing-ceremony-held-for-scavellos-anti-littering-bill/

Stronger penalties under Title 18 (crimes code) section 6501

For the first offense, in addition to paying a fine, offenders are court-ordered to pick up litter or trash from 5 – 30 hours. For second and subsequent offenses, the community service increases to 30 – 100 hours as an optional addition to the monetary fine.

Litter enforcement corridors

Act 62 denotes certain segments of roads as Litter Enforcement Corridors as a way to increase focus on litter and illegal dumping. These road segments are ones that have a high aesthetic or historic value worth preserving and will be marked with signs to notify motorists.

Pennsylvania communities are already putting the new bill into action. The city of Philadelphia recently designated more than 50 blocks of roadway as litter enforcement corridors. Among other penalties, a contractor found guilty of dumping in one of these corridors could now be penalized three times the maximum $5000 fine.

Doubled fines
The act adds section 3329 to Title 75 (vehicle code) which doubles fines for depositing waste in a litter enforcement corridor. These offenses are defined under the following 3 sections:

• Section 3709 of the vehicle code for scattering rubbish from a vehicle or not removing all debris following an accident,
• Section 4903 of the vehicle code for allowing a load that is not properly secured to escape from a vehicle,
• Section 6501 of the crimes code for scattering rubbish onto any road, land of another, or body of water.

Tripled fines
Often, fines levied against commercial dumpers are less than the fees for proper disposal. Act 62 helps remedy this by tripling the fine when waste or litter (as defined in the crimes code section 6501) that originated from a commercial business is deposited in a litter enforcement corridor.

Increased safety for cleanups

Act 62 also added a safety measure for workers or volunteers who are picking up trash in a litter enforcement corridor, under section 3329(a). When drivers are in these areas and see traffic control devices, they must yield the right of way, like in a construction work zone. For this reason, it’s important to plan a cleanup event with local or state authorities involved when possible.

How corridors are designated

Scenic highways, as defined under Title 74 chapter 83, are now designated Litter Enforcement Corridors. There are 3 additional ways roads can be designated (section 6105.2 of the vehicle code):

• Counties or municipalities can designate a local route within their borders.
• PennDOT Districts can designate a state route,
• Municipalities can petition PennDOT to designate a state route,

For a complete list of guidelines for state routes, see PennDOT’s Roadside Beautification Manual. For a state route to become a litter corridor, the District or municipality shall:

• Propose a corridor that is at least 1 mile long and covers the entire length of the route within the borders of the District or municipality requesting the corridor.
• Document the existence of litter, which can include complaints and photographs.
• Have written support from law enforcement. The requesting entity will be responsible for coordinating law enforcement.
• Ensure there is enough space at the ends of the corridor for signs, and that installing them will not obstruct other traffic control devices. The requesting entity will cover costs for installing signage.
• Municipalities need also to pass a resolution accepting the corridor designation and that covers:
  • Detailed location info for installing traffic control devices.
  • Size of the signs.
  • Length in miles of the enforcement corridor, which will also be on the signs.
  • Acceptance of costs and liability for traffic control device. Signs are to be installed as stated in the current Publication 213.

Contact your regional PennDOT district office or see PennDOT’s Roadside Beautification Manual for more details. We are also happy to help and welcome hearing your success stories. Contact Rob Dubas at rdubas@keeppabeautiful.org.