Dearborn County, IN Code Violation Reporting: How to Report (2026)

The reporting channel for a dump site is written into § 50.02(E)(1) of the Dearborn County Code: when any dumping has occurred at any location throughout the county, notice is given by anyone having knowledge to the Sheriff. The duty is not limited to the landowner or a neighbor. Any person who knows about a dump can give that notice, and the ordinance names the Sheriff, not the Health Department, as the recipient. The ordinance does not print a phone number or a form for this report, so the notice goes to the Dearborn County Sheriff's Office in Lawrenceburg.

Once notice is given, the Sheriff investigates the site with the assistance of such other county officials as he or she requires. The purpose is to determine whether any items in the dumping site can be identified by the names of individuals, for example mail, receipts, or labeled containers. Useful information in a report is therefore the location of the site and what is lying in it.

If the identity of the dumpers can be determined, the Board of Commissioners issues an order, by its authority, to remove and clean up the dumped items within a time period of no less than 30 days. The cleanup order is the first step; the county can later do the work itself and bill the cost, and a dumper who fails to comply faces the fine in § 50.99(B).

Enforcement of Chapter 50 sits with the County Health Officer under § 50.04(A). Under § 50.04(B) it is the duty of the County Prosecuting Attorney, to whom the Health Officer reports violations, to cause proceedings to be commenced against the violator and to prosecute to final termination.

A different report goes to the County Surveyor. Under § 37.17, a person can file a request to investigate a storm water nuisance with the County Surveyor if, upon request, the owner of the land where the nuisance sits does not remove it. The request form can be picked up at the Dearborn County Surveyor's Office, and § 37.17(C) sets a filing fee of $50. That process concerns storm water, not dumped trash. Reports about sites inside Lawrenceburg, Aurora, or another incorporated town go to that municipality, not to the county.