Ouachita Parish, LA Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Fine range
- $100 to $500
- Jail alternative
- up to 30 days
- Offense class
- misdemeanor
- Prohibited sites
- ditches, drains, others' property, cemeteries, waterways
- Related cross-reference
- dead animal dumping, § 9-2
- Original ordinance
- Ord. No. 7121 (11-8-1961)
Summary
Ouachita Parish Code Sec. 8-1 bans dumping trash, rubbish or waste material of any kind into parish ditches, drains, water outlets, another person's property, cemeteries, or any bayou, lake, river or other body of water. A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 to $500 fine, up to 30 days in jail, or both.
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person, persons, firm or corporation, to place, deposit, or dump trash, rubbish or waste material of whatsoever kind or nature, in any ditch, drain, water outlet or inlet, constructed and/or maintained by the parish or on any property belonging to any other person or persons, corporations or other organizations, or cemeteries, public or privately owned and in any bayou, lake, river or other body of water whatsoever.(b)Any person, persons, firm or corporation, or if by a corporation, the officers thereof, and the agents, servants or employees of any person, persons or association of persons, firm or corporation, who shall violate any provisions of the section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100.00) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500.00) or imprisonment for a term of not more than thirty (30) days or both at the discretion of the court.
Full Breakdown
Section 8-1(a) makes it unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to place, deposit or dump trash, rubbish or waste material of whatever kind in any ditch, drain, water outlet or inlet constructed or maintained by the parish, on property belonging to anyone else, in a public or private cemetery, or in any bayou, lake, river or other body of water. The section is broadly worded and is not limited to unincorporated territory the way the parish's abandoned-vehicle and solid-waste-collection sections are, so its dumping ban reads as a parishwide criminal prohibition.
Subsection (b) makes any violator, including a corporation's officers, agents, servants or employees, guilty of a misdemeanor. The ordinance traces to Ord. No. 7121 adopted November 8, 1961, and was amended in 1981 and again by Ord. No. 7997 on January 20, 1986. The chapter cross-references two related offenses: dumping dead fish, fowl or animals is separately punished under Sec. 9-2, and obstructing drainage ditches is covered under Sec. 19-6, so a single dumping incident touching a ditch and involving a dead animal can expose a violator to more than one section of the code.
The provision sits in Chapter 8, Article I, alongside the parish's separate anti-litter ordinance (Sec. ), which independently bars throwing litter, garbage or refuse onto public or private property and from moving vehicles.
Violations & Fines
A person, firm or corporation, or a corporate officer, agent, servant or employee who violates Sec. 8-1 is guilty of a misdemeanor. Upon conviction the court may impose a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, imprisonment for not more than 30 days, or both, at the court's discretion. Each dumping incident supports a separate charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as illegal dumping under Sec. 8-1?
What is the penalty for dumping in a parish ditch?
Does dumping a dead animal fall under this section too?
Does the dumping ban apply inside Monroe or West Monroe?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Ouachita Parish
Compare Ouachita Parish to another location·View the Louisiana trash & recycling overview
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