An inspector would not need to witness an illegal dumping violation for the city to fine someone under a bill up for a final vote today by the Honolulu City Council.

Instead, the Department of Environmental Services could make a decision to cite someone based on a citizen’s complaint and any evidence gathered — including license plates of vehicles used in committing a violation. That puts the onus on the vehicle owner, or lessee if the car is rented or leased.

Bill 64 (2019) was introduced by Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga after she heard from residents of Tantalus and Makiki Heights Drive troubled by a seemingly growing amount of trash — and bulky items in particular — being dumped out of cars and along the sides and over the ridges of public roads in their remote neighborhoods.

The law already prohibits dumping of bulky waste onto a street or other public area, but the bill would add the words, “No person shall operate or use a vehicle in committing a violation” of the statute.

More important, the bill makes clear that “it shall not be necessary that an act of illegal dumping … shall have occurred in the presence of or have been witnessed by an employee of the department for the director to determine that a violation has occurred.”

Environmental Services Director Lori Kahikina said that makes it a lot easier for her inspectors to issue a citation for illegal dumping. Kahikina said she supports the bill because “it will give ENV added enforcement authority on illegal dumpers.”

While triggered by complaints from a certain area, the bill also could be used by those wanting to report illegal dumping across the island, bulky or not.

A person cited could pay a fine of up $500 or request a hearing on the matter, similar to the procedure for a traffic ticket. Failure to pay could stop a person from vehicle registration or driver licensing.

“A rebuttable presumption exists that the registered owner or lessee of a vehicle used in committing a violation (of the new law) is the person who operated the vehicle in violation (of the law),” the bill states.

Fukunaga said she’s also looking at whether stiffer penalties could be imposed that might force a violator to pay for removal of the items they’ve dumped that may be hard to reach and remove. “It’s really looking to align our city enforcement with some of the practical solutions that have been developed for anti-littering in the past,” she said.

Mark Bernstein, president of the Tantalus Community Association, said the problem of illegal dumping in his neighborhood has gotten worse as the cost has gone up for the dumping construction waste at the city’s Waimanalo Gulch Sanitary Landfill.

Last month the association held a cleanup of public property along the shoulder of the road on the lower end of Tantalus Drive and tallied “bed frames, beds, a couple of couches and a coffee table — to go with the tires and everything else,” Bernstein said. A photo he submitted to the Council as part of his testimony showed roughly two dozen tires, some still with rims, that his group collected.

The goal is for area residents to take photos and video of the vehicles and their license plates and report them to ENV. “None of the stuff that’s getting dumped in Tantalus is coming up on the backs of anyone,” Bernstein said. “It’s all coming up in a car, and it’s all getting thrown out of a car.”

Security cameras are being installed outside of more and more houses in Hawaii, making it easier for someone to pull footage that might show a violation and submit it with a complaint, he said.

“If I make dumping a crime, then I’ve got to be able to identify the person who did it, with their name, their picture, everything,” he said. “If I only have to identify the vehicle, then all I need is the license plate and the evidence that the vehicle was used for dumping.”

That works for Debra Duggan-Takagi, security coordinator for the Tantalus Community Association, who said the organization recently installed a third security camera that faces Round Top Drive and Tantalus Drive.

“If anyone comes far enough up and they’ve got a truckload of garbage, and then we see them on the security camera going down the hill and their truck is empty, then we can pretty much say, ‘Hey, where did you put your stuff?’” Duggan-Takagi said.

Members of the Makiki Heights Community Association also submitted testimony supporting the bill. They said they’ve found used needles and syringes among the items tossed out of cars in their neighborhood.

Besides toughening up littering laws, they want the city to consider installing guardrails along the shoulder of the road that would prevent people from parking there altogether.

BILL 64 (2019)

>> What: Bill 64 (2019) would make it easier to bust people who toss bulky items and other trash in public areas.

>> How: Littering is already illegal. The bill says a city inspector doesn’t need to see it to fine someone and that photos and video footage may be used as evidence.

>> Penalty: A fine of up to $500, possibly more.