An illegal dumping ground

On the decidedly rural areas west of Roseville, the gently sloping grasslands would be the perfect picture of pristine natural habitat, except for one problem - at times it looks like a cut-rate yard sale hit by a tornado. Ranging from mattresses to old clothes, and a dismaying range of paperwork and other garbage, county officials converged on one problem site Wednesday off Watt Avenue hoping to highlight the problem and get the word out to residents that it needs to stop. "This is bad," said a visibly disturbed Bill Santucci, District 1 County Supervisor, surveying the refuse dumped on a right-angle turn in the area, where solitary homes stand several hundred yards in the distance. "It's been one of the first problems I tried to tackle," he added, since taking office in January 1995. But it's a tough chore for county officials because they have to catch people doing it in the act, and have never been able to collar violators.That's why they're hoping citizens who care about the problem will help, both by keeping their eyes open in rural areas for dumpers, and getting rid of their refuse properly by trash collections or transporting larger items to the county landfill off Athens Road.At this Watt Avenue location, there are a half-dozen mattresses thrown away alongside the road, spewed at odd angles, covered with a gritty menagerie of other people's afterthoughts, things they should've disposed of legally. Among the items are baby strollers, appliances, junk furniture, food packaging, and stuffed animals. It's a grim tableau, especially when couched in the backdrop of the county's rural area, which is otherwise unspoiled by the impacts a large population who live just a few miles away, to the east and the south. Santucci was joined by Placer County Public Works staff, including Ken Grehm, assistant director, and Kevin Taber, road division manager. Taber said he sends a four-man crew out once a month to collect dumped items from the area, an all-day project that isn't part of their regular job, but they do it anyway. Such cleanups are an all-day affair for crews, who'll take about 10 trips to the landfill as part of the effort. "We still have to take it to the landfill," Grehm said. "It costs about $300 to $400 a load. We've paid $12,000 to $15,000 in fees in the last six months just in the West Placer County area." All told, between those fees, labor time for crews and other expenses, the illegal dumping costs the county about $100,000 per year."It's basically a monthly occurrence," Taber added. "You've got to catch them in the act (to stop it)." Santucci said officials hope to dispatch more law enforcement patrols in the area, but they're hoping citizen awareness of the problem could help catch one of the dumpers. Several years ago they went through some of the mail thrown away in the area, but that isn't sufficient proof to prosecute someone."If we could catch one person doing it, we could make an example out of them," Santucci said. Jason Probst can be reached at jasonp@goldcountrymedia.com