Howard County, MD Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

110 if the condition poses a health threat or interferes with a neighbor's use of their land. A resident can complain directly to the Board of Health or Health Department, and the Health Officer must investigate; agricultural nuisance complaints need two written complainants before an investigation is required. If the Health Officer finds a nuisance, the county issues a written notice describing the problem, ordering it corrected within a stated deadline, and stating the right to appeal, or issues a civil citation outright. An aggrieved owner has 15 days to appeal to the Board of Health's Executive Secretary, and the Board must hold a hearing within ten days and decide within 15 days of that hearing.

112 sets the actual teeth: civil penalties escalate from a Class E violation for a first offense to Class D for a second and Class B for a third or later offense, with each day of uncorrected dumping counted as a separate violation. The Health Officer can also seek a criminal summons, carrying fines up to $100 for a first offense, $500 for a second, and $1,000 for a third or subsequent offense. If the responsible party still refuses to clean up, the Health Officer can get court permission to enter the property, abate the dumping directly, and bill the owner for the work plus administrative costs; an unpaid bill becomes a lien on the property enforced the same way as unpaid county taxes.