[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Commissioners of the Town
of Westernport 10-5-2015 as § 120-5
of the 2015 Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Litter
Control Law."
[Amended 7-10-2017]
It is the intent of the Town of Westernport to maintain the
beauty of the Town and eliminate harm to the health, welfare and safety
of its citizens caused by individuals who litter. Littering is a municipal
infraction under § 6-102 of the Local Government Article
of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
As used in this chapter the following words or phrases shall
have the following meanings:
All rubbish, waste matter, refuse, garbage, trash, debris,
dead animals or other discarded materials of every kind and description.
The right-of-way of any road or highway, any body of water
or watercourse or the shores or beaches thereof, any park, parking
facility, playground, public service company property or transmission
line right-of-way, building, refuge or conservation or recreation
area, any residential or farm properties, timberlands or forest.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to dump, deposit,
throw or leave or to cause or permit the dumping, depositing, placing,
throwing or leaving of litter on any public or private property in
this municipality or any waters in this municipality, unless:
(1)
Such property is designated by the Town of Westernport or by any
of its agencies or political subdivisions for the disposal of such
litter and such person is authorized by the proper public authority
to use such property; or
(2)
Such litter is placed into a litter receptacle or container installed
on such property.
B.
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to throw, dump or
deposit any trash, junk, or other refuse upon any highway or to perform
any act which constitutes a violation of the State of Maryland's
vehicle laws relative to putting trash, glass and other prohibited
substances on highways.
[Amended 10-1-2018 by Ord. No. 9-4-2018B]
Any person violating the provisions of § 119-4 of this chapter shall be punished in the following manner:
B.
In addition to any other remedy provided by this section, a court
may order the violator to:
(1)
Remove or render harmless the litter dumped in violation of this
chapter;
(2)
Repair or restore property damaged by, or pay damages for any damage
arising out of, dumping the litter in violation of this chapter;
Whenever litter is thrown, deposited, dropped or dumped from any vehicle in violation of § 119-4 of this chapter, and if the vehicle, boat, airplane or other conveyance has two or more occupants and it cannot be determined which occupant is the violator, the owner of the vehicle, boat, airplane or other conveyance, if present, shall be presumed to be responsible for the violation; in the absence of the owner of the vehicle, the operator shall be presumed to be responsible for the violation. Furthermore, licenses to operate such vehicle may be suspended for a period not to exceed seven days together with the penalties provided in § 119-5 of this chapter.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the facts of
any case in which a person is charged with violating this chapter
are sufficient to prove that the person is responsible for the violation,
it is not necessary that the owner of the property on which the violation
allegedly occurred be present at any court proceeding regarding that
case.
All law enforcement agencies, officers and officials of the
Town of Westernport are hereby authorized, empowered and directed
to enforce compliance with this chapter.
