Bay County, MI Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Enforcing agency
- Bay County Health Department
- Governing law
- Nuisance Code § 42.313
- Maximum fine
- $200 per offense
- Maximum jail term
- 90 days
- Exception
- Health Officer may authorize disposal
- Continuing violation
- Each day is a separate offense
Summary
Bay County's Nuisance Code makes it unlawful to place or deposit refuse, rubbish or garbage in an unsanitary manner on public or private property unless the Health Officer specifically authorizes it. The Bay County Health Department enforces the ban, and a conviction is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $200 fine and 90 days in jail.
Sec. 313. It shall be unlawful for any person to place, deposit, or permit to be deposited in any unsanitary manner upon public or private property any refuse, rubbish or garbage, or other objectionable waste, except as specifically authorized by the Health Officer, or his/her authorized representative. ... Sec. 317. ... Any person who shall fail to comply with any provision herein, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding the sum of two hundred dollars ($200.00) or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding ninety (90) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court. Each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.
Full Breakdown
313 of the county's Nuisance Code (Part 42, Article III) prohibits any person from placing, depositing, or permitting to be deposited in any unsanitary manner, upon public or private property, any refuse, rubbish, garbage or other objectionable waste, except when the Health Officer or an authorized representative of the Bay County Health Department specifically authorizes it. 223 as garbage, rubbish, non-putrescible wastes and other waste material that, if allowed to accumulate, would create a danger to public health, safety and welfare or an unwholesome, obnoxious or offensive smell or condition.
311 makes it unlawful to occupy or rent premises where such a condition exists. Because the ordinance is a health-code provision rather than a solid-waste hauling regulation, enforcement runs through the Environmental Health Division of the Bay County Health Department, which can inspect a dump site, identify the responsible party and issue a citation. 318 in addition to criminal prosecution, giving it a civil remedy to force cleanup of a dump site independent of the misdemeanor penalty.
Violations & Fines
A Section 42.313 violation is a misdemeanor under Section 42.317: a fine of up to $200, up to 90 days in the county jail, or both, at the court's discretion. Each day the dumped material remains constitutes a separate offense, so an uncleared illegal dump site can accumulate additional charges the longer it sits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as illegal dumping in Bay County?
What is the penalty for illegal dumping?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bay County
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