LaPorte County, IN Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 50.36
- First violation fine
- $100
- Repeat threshold
- 3+ violations
- Escalated fine
- up to $2,500/day per violation
- Paid to
- County Ordinance Violations Bureau
- Adopted
- Ord. 2007-19, 10-16-07
- Applies to
- Ziegler Road Waste Area only
Summary
LaPorte County backs the Ziegler Road Waste Dump Site's yard-waste-only rule with real money: a first violation costs $100 under § 50.36(A), paid straight to the county's Ordinance Violations Bureau. Anyone racking up three or more violations faces the escalated penalty in § 50.36(B): fines up to $2,500 per day, per violation, plus the county's costs and attorney fees if it has to sue to stop repeated dumping.
(A) Any person found in violation of this subchapter will be subjected to a fine of $100, per violation, to be paid to the Ordinance Violations Bureau. (B) Multiple violations of this subchapter (construed as three or more) by an individual may be subject to specific action regarding relief and fines and penalties not to exceed $2,500 per day, per violation, as well as the costs of this action including attorney fees if legal action is maintained for such repeated occurrences.
Full Breakdown
35 for residential yard and tree debris such as grass clippings, leaves, branches, and trees. 36(A)'s $100 fine per violation, payable to the county's Ordinance Violations Bureau rather than through a court filing. The ordinance escalates hard for repeat offenders. 36(B) defines 'multiple violations' as three or more by the same individual, and once a person crosses that line the county can pursue specific action regarding relief along with fines and penalties of up to $2,500 per day, per violation, a per-day multiplier that can turn a single ongoing pile of illegally dumped material into thousands of dollars of exposure.
The county can also recover the costs of that action, including attorney fees, if it has to bring legal proceedings to stop the repeated dumping. Both the underlying use restriction and this penalty schedule were adopted together as Ord. 99.
Violations & Fines
A single violation costs $100 per instance, billed through the county's Ordinance Violations Bureau under § 50.36(A). Three or more violations by the same person escalate to civil fines and penalties of up to $2,500 per day, per violation, under § 50.36(B), and the county can add its costs of pursuing the matter, including attorney fees, on top of that.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the fine for illegal dumping at the Ziegler Road site?
Does the $2,500-per-day fine apply to a first offense?
Can the county recover legal costs for repeated illegal dumping?
Does this illegal-dumping penalty cover dumping anywhere in the county, or just one site?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in LaPorte County
Compare LaPorte County to another location·View the Indiana trash & recycling overview
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