Carver County, MN Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

Carver County Code of Ordinances § 50.009(A)(3) implements Minnesota Statutes § 115A.99(1): a person who unlawfully places any portion of solid waste in or on public or private lands, shorelands, roadways or waters is subject to a civil penalty of not less than twice nor more than five times the cost a state agency or political subdivision incurs to remove, process and dispose of the dumped waste. The state agency or political subdivision that pays that removal cost can sue to recover the civil penalty plus related legal, administrative and court costs, and damages for injury to or pollution of the land, shoreland, roadway or water it owns or manages, per § 50.009(A)(3).

A private landowner can join that action to recover damages for waste dumped on their own property, under § 50.009(A)(4). Civil penalties collected go into the general fund of whichever jurisdiction enforced them. Section 50.009(A)(5) makes each day a dumping violation occurs or continues its own separate offense, so a pile left in place accrues additional exposure daily rather than being treated as one event. This sits alongside § 50.009(A)(1)-(2), which bars using land for solid waste disposal without a Board-issued license and bars dumping at any facility not licensed to accept that waste type, and the Environmental Services Department investigates complaints and can refer cases to the County Attorney's Office under § 50.005(B)(2)-(3).