Shasta Lake Municipal Code Ch. 8.08 Littering, Dumping and Refuse Accumulations

The city council finds and declares that the public health, safety, and welfare require the regulation of refuse collection and disposal within the city. A violation of any provision of this chapter shall constitute a public nuisance and may be abated, specifically enjoined in a civil action filed for that purpose, or criminally prosecuted in accordance with the ordinances of the city.

(Ord. 94-36 § 1)

Unless it is apparent from the context that another meaning is intended, the following words when used in this chapter shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section.

"Refuse" means all household and commercial, including restaurant, waste consisting of Group 2 type wastes as defined by the regulations of the State Water Resources Control Board, and including wastes such as discarded materials and appliances from dwelling places, households, apartment houses, stores, office buildings, restaurants, hotels, motels, mobile home parks, and all commercial establishments, including waste or discarded food, animal and vegetable matter, paper, cardboard, wood, cans, tires, asphalt paving fragments, metal, glass, ashes, boxes, cuttings from trees, lawns, and gardens.

"Refuse" does not include hazardous waste or contaminates which might be injurious to personnel engaged in solid waste handling including, but not limited to, acids, explosives, radioactive materials, and septic tank pumpings; nor does it include any materials that are, or in the future may be, prohibited from dumping in a residential landfill by state or federal regulations. The collection and disposal of all such material is under the jurisdiction of the Shasta County resource management department or appropriate state agencies.

(Ord. 94-36 § 2)

It is unlawful to throw, discard, place, deposit, or dump, or cause to be placed, deposited, or dumped, within the corporate limits of the city any refuse, including the carcass of any dead animal in or upon any street, road, or alley, including any portion of the right-of-way thereof, or in or upon any private property, into or upon which the public is admitted by easement or license, or in or upon any public park or other public property except in appropriate storage containers available for such purpose, or public disposal site set aside for the disposal of refuse, or in or upon any waterway, creek, or drainage ditch, either natural or artificial.

(Ord. 94-36 § 3)

It is unlawful for any person to deposit, keep, or accumulate, or cause, permit, or suffer to be deposited, kept, or accumulated in other than an authorized receptacle, for more than seven days, any refuse, including furniture, appliances, packing materials, cardboard, abandoned, or discarded vehicles or parts thereof, or any other matter classified as refuse, in or upon any lot or parcel of land, house, store, restaurant, business, or other commercial establishment, public property, or in any other place within the city.

(Ord. 94-36 § 4)

It is unlawful for any person to bury any refuse on any lot or parcel, or in any other location within the city. This provision shall not apply to burying or composting of organic material on private property in an amount reasonably necessary for noncommercial gardening or landscaping in or upon the lot or parcel on which the burying or composting takes place. Burying and composting must be accomplished in a manner which does not constitute a public nuisance by the attraction of rodents or other animals, and does not cause the premises to become unsightly or become a nuisance to adjoining property owners.

(Ord. 94-36 § 5)

It is unlawful to burn any refuse on any lot or premises within the corporate limits of the city except trees, leaves, bushes, brush, and other garden trimmings and branches cut on the premises. All burning shall be conducted only in accordance with Shasta County air quality regulations and the regulations of the applicable fire protection district.

(Ord. 94-36 § 6)

Each occupant of a place of residence or a place of business in the city shall keep on the premises occupied by him or her a water-tight refuse container made of galvanized steel or other approved material which will not rust easily and can be readily cleaned, having at least two rigid handles and a close-fitting lid of the same material, and having a capacity of not less than five gallons nor more than forty (40) gallons. The close-fitting cover shall at all times, except when refuse is being deposited in or taken from such receptacle, shall be placed in proper position as a cover to the container.

(Ord. 94-36 § 7)

Any violation of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor unless in the sole discretion of the prosecuting attorney the violation is deemed to be an infraction. Each day that a prohibited act continues shall constitute a separate and distinct violation of this chapter.

(Ord. 94-36 § 8)