Sandoval County, NM Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

The county's Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance treats dumping as a form of blight and public nuisance under Section 15(1), Health and Sanitation. Subsection E, Dumping, makes it unlawful for any person to place or dump solid waste or debris in an arroyo, stream bed, drainage ditch, public fountain, or any public body of water within county boundaries, and separately unlawful to dump on any property in the county regardless of ownership. Vacant lots or lands that have been the target of repeated dumping must be secured against future dumping using approved methods: permanent fencing, a ditch or berm, or four-foot-high posts spaced four feet apart.

Once a lot has been dumped on more than once, the owner must also post "no dumping" signs. The Zoning Officer administers and enforces Section 15(1) under the enforcement scheme in subsection F: a written complaint triggers an investigation, and any owner, builder, agent, lessee, or occupant who allows solid waste or debris to accumulate is subject to a notice of violation with up to 15 days to abate before a citation issues to Magistrate Court. A second offense within 12 months skips the notice step and goes straight to a Magistrate Court citation.

If a violator fails to correct the problem, the county may remediate the site itself or hire a contractor and place a lien on the property for the cost under NMSA 1978, Section 3-36-1 et seq. Anyone who improperly grades or tills a dumped-on lot must also revegetate or restore it to its prior condition under a Zoning Officer-approved plan.