Dealing with unsightly dump sites can be tricky

Michael Varga said he drives by a pile of trash and abandoned trash cans every day on the corner of Rainbow Way and Camino Rainbow in Rainbow.

He said the pile continued to grow, which caused him to contact the county of San Diego as well as the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department to find out what could be done about it.

When he hit a dead end with the two departments, he emailed the Village News.

“I contacted the county who told me that since this was most likely not HazMat, it will take up to a year to clean up,” Varga said in his email. “Until then, we have a sanitation and fire hazard. I called the sheriff, but they cannot do anything unless I personally prove who is dumping.”

After driving by to check out the dump pile, a call was made by the Village News to Gig Conaughton, San Diego County communications specialist, for some input on the situation.

Conaughton said the county is working on removing the pile with the Planning and Development Services Code Compliance taking the lead.

He said the county first received a complaint Jan. 7, and inspectors visited the site and contacted the property owner after the inspection.

Conaughton said the property owner told inspectors that the pile would be picked up by EDCO as part of its weekly trash pickup.

He said inspectors came back Jan. 18 and Jan. 24 and noted that the trash was still there, prompting code compliance officers to contact the property owner again, instructing them to remove the trash.

Conaughton said after a visit Friday, Feb. 1, code compliance investigators issued an Administrative Warning ordering the property owner to remove the trash. He said if the trash isn’t gone by Feb. 15, the county could levy additional enforcement actions.

But even then, there’s no guarantee the trash will get picked up.

Conaughton said dealing with trash dump sites, especially in rural areas like Rainbow, is a little bit tricky because it depends on where the trash dumping is happening.

He said if the trash being dumped is found along the road within the road’s right of way, the county’s Department of Public Works road crews would handle removing the trash.

But, he said, if the trash is on private property, then the county’s codes compliance department investigates and works with the property owner to get the problem fixed.

Such is the case with the Rainbow Way and Camino Rainbow trash pile.

Conaughton said the best option for residents who locate a dump site that they think is illegal is to contact the county. He said the best way to do that is to use the county’s Tell Us Now! app.

The county said all residents have to do is “Snap a quick picture and add some text on your smartphone and send.”

In the county’s press release on the app, users can choose one of the four categories currently available, and continue to the specific issue. Touch the camera icon, snap a photo or video, fill out the question fields, add contact info and hit submit.

The app is available in the app stores for iPhone and Android smartphones.

Conaughton said residents can also contact code compliance by emailing [email protected].

Jeff Pack can be contacted at [email protected].