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Prince George's County, MD Code Violation Reporting: Response Times (2026)

Light Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified August 2026

Key Facts

Reporting cycle
Annually, to Council and Executive
Metric tracked
Illegal-dumping response times
Fixed deadline
None set in ordinance
Report folded into
Ten-Year Solid Waste Plan
Site priority set by
Sec. 13-275 assessments

Summary

Prince George's County does not publish a fixed response-time guarantee for illegal-dumping complaints; instead, Sec. 13-279 requires the Department of the Environment to report response times to the County Council and County Executive at least once a year. The Environmental Crimes Unit's site-assessment process, described in Sec. 13-275, drives which reported dump sites get patrolled first.

These county ordinances apply to unincorporated areas of Prince George's County. Incorporated cities within the county may have their own rules that take precedence over county-level regulations.

"Site assessment is an on-going process and site assessments will be conducted and priority target areas will be updated periodically with a report at least once annually to the County Council and County Executive of the violations, citations and arrests for Environmental Crimes; response times to complaints involving illegal dumping; number and location of priority sites patrolled by each Environmental Crimes Unit team, and list of number and location of known illegal dump sites in the County."

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 2026 Update 2).

Full Breakdown

Sec. 13-279(a) requires the Department of the Environment to annually report data and provide analysis of environmental crimes generated by the Environmental Crimes Unit, though data on illegal-dumping complaints that the County Attorney deems confidential or pre-decisional is excluded, and the Annual Report is transmitted as part of the County's Ten-Year Solid Waste Management Plan. Sec. 13-279(b) goes further and specifically requires periodic updates, with a report at least once annually to the County Council and County Executive, covering violations, citations and arrests for Environmental Crimes, response times to complaints involving illegal dumping, the number and location of priority sites patrolled by each Environmental Crimes Unit team, and a list of known illegal dump sites countywide.

That reporting duty is fed by the site-assessment and prioritization process in Sec. 13-275, which draws on intelligence data, visual and aerial ground assessments performed by the Unit's own enforcement teams, and resident and stakeholder complaints to build a prioritized list of target areas; the Department of Public Works and Transportation is directed to give priority to cleaning up right-of-way sites the Unit refers to it, while DPIE prioritizes private-property sites. The ordinance sets no numeric response-time standard, such as a 24- or 48-hour window, for any individual complaint; the response-time figure exists only as an annual aggregate metric reported to elected officials.

Violations & Fines

Sec. 13-279 imposes a reporting duty on County government, not a penalty on residents, so there is no citation for a slow response. Underlying illegal-dumping violations that generate the reported complaints remain punishable under Sections 23-150 through 23-151 and the litter fines in Sec. 13-271, which run up to $5,000 for repeat commercial offenders, separate from the Department's annual reporting obligation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a guaranteed response time for an illegal-dumping complaint?
No. Sec. 13-279 does not set a response-time deadline for any individual complaint; it only requires the Department of the Environment to report aggregate response-time data to the County Council and County Executive at least once a year, alongside citation, arrest, and dump-site location counts.
How does the County decide which dumping complaints to investigate first?
Sec. 13-275 directs the Environmental Crimes Unit to build a prioritized list of target areas from intelligence data, its own visual and aerial ground assessments, and resident or stakeholder complaints; the Department of Public Works and Transportation and DPIE then get priority referrals for right-of-way and private-property sites, respectively.
Where can the public see the County's illegal-dumping response-time data?
Sec. 13-279(a) folds the Environmental Crimes Unit's annual report into the County's Ten-Year Solid Waste Management Plan, though data the County Attorney designates confidential or pre-decisional, such as some illegal-dumping specifics, is withheld from that public report.

Sources & Official References

Other rules in Prince George's County

All Prince George's County rules

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