County enforcers look to curb illegal dumping

NEAR DONNA — Jim Wallen couldn't find what he was looking for in the pile of trash bags tossed carelessly to the side of the dusty county road.

Rotting food remnants, old clothing and discarded cans all turned up in the bags, but nothing the deputy constable could use to tie the garbage to its previous owner.

Finally, after his gloved hands ripped open the last of the five bags, Wallen pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. It was an unfilled prescription written to a woman he might be able to track down.

"Man, oh, man," Wallen said as a smile crept across his face. "I love evidence."

In three years as an environmental crimes investigator for Hidalgo County Precinct 1, Wallen has recovered mail, magazine subscriptions, bills and other items he traces to a name or address.

Wallen uses the evidence he finds in abandoned trash to cite people for illegal dumping, a problem Hidalgo County's precincts are combating by hiring more solid waste enforcers and using other technology.

Precinct 1 doubled its environmental crimes investigators by adding two more earlier this year, and Precinct 3 will soon install three video cameras near chronic illegal dumping sites.

Precinct 1 also will soon add to its number of free trash collection stations, which annually take in more than 21,000 tons of garbage.

Joseph Palacios, the precinct's chief administrator, said more collection sites and investigators should reduce the illegal dumping that adversely affects drinking water quality, clogs drainage ditches and creates health and sanitation issues.

Wallen, who investigates about 1,500 cases of illegal dumping each year in the Mid-Valley, said educating the public on the harm from illegal dumping and tracking down culprits are the best ways to stop it.

Since four deputies can't be everywhere in the Mid-Valley at once to watch for illegal dumpers, he uncovers evidence where no one expects them to look.

"People ask me, ‘How the hell can you go through somebody's trash?'" Wallen said. "I tell them, ‘It's because I know the person who put it out there is going to be standing before me when I'm through.'"

MORE STATIONS

The man who was burning trash in his backyard earlier this week lived barely a mile from Donna's free trash collection site.

Wallen cited the man for burning trash without a permit during a burn ban and he regularly cites those to whom he can trace illegal dumping.

Penalties for the crime depend on the severity of the illegal dumping, but it's usually a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine. Repeat offenders face elevated charges up to a state jail felony that can lead to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

But the extent of the problem means enforcement alone isn't enough to curb illegal dumping, said Wallen, who advocates outreach to stop minor offenders. When caught, the culprits usually say they didn't know about the free collection sites, were unwilling to wait for them to open or didn't want to travel several miles to reach them.

Precinct 1 operates trash collection sites near Donna, Monte Alto, Mercedes and Weslaco where residents can dispose of garbage and tires, Palacios said. The precinct is expanding the program, which started in 1997, by adding new collection sites in Edcouch and north of Donna.

The county pays nearly $1 million annually to dispose of the collection sites' trash at landfills in Donna and in Cameron County.

Operating those collection sites costs the county less than dealing with 21,000 tons of illegally dumped garbage each year, Palacios said. By expanding the service to new locations, he hopes to entice illegal dumpers to instead visit the free collection sites.

"You can't ever get rid of illegal dumping, but you can keep it to a manageable degree," Palacios said. "It's a matter of educating people or it's not going to stop."

MORE EYES

Wallen knows the best places to catch them.

Every few months, he conducts nighttime surveillance at locations - quiet county roads or along drainage ditches - where illegal dumping is a chronic issue.

He surprises some when they stop their vehicles, turn off their headlights and throw out trash, but he hasn't figured out how to catch all of them without multiplying the number of investigators.

Precinct 3 is trying an automated approach.

Aware that spots for illegal dumping are visited again and again, the precinct is installing video cameras with motion sensors purchased through a grant, Constable Larry Gallardo said. The cameras, which work off power lines and are self-contained and waterproof, can capture video evidence at popular dump sites.

Gallardo's four deputies who work in solid waste enforcement spend most of their time responding after the fact to complaints of illegal dumping.

Until the county can offer curbside trash service to rural residents, some people will find it easier and cheaper to dump garbage, Gallardo said. The cameras give him an extra tool - and three extra sets of eyes - to at least track them down after it happens.

"It takes a miracle to catch them in the act," he said. "You can't be everywhere at one time. That's why we've gone toward the cameras."

TRASH STORIES

In his time as a deputy constable, Wallen has heard all kinds of stories.

One woman told him the mailman dropped her mail in the ditch. When he explained to her the mail was found in a bag of trash, she didn't budge from her story. Another man claimed the trash was stolen with other items during a burglary, but he couldn't produce a police report.

Wallen, who documents evidence he finds in the trash with a camera, said those kinds of stories don't work in front of a judge.

Other instances can't be explained away.

Thousands of pounds of used clothing cover a five-acre plot behind a home on the outskirts of Donna.

The mess is the next big project for Wallen, who suspects the landowner was paid by a ropa usada, or used clothing, business to dispose of the garments and chose to pocket the money and just dump the clothes in the backyard.

It's illegal to dispose of garbage at unapproved landfills - with some exceptions for farmers - regardless of who owns the property.

Raul Lozano, one of the new deputy constables hired by Precinct 1 to investigate environmental crimes, watched as a horse navigated the colorful terrain, searching for grass under the clothes.

"They'll give you some excuse," Lozano said. "We've heard them all."