(a) Solid waste shall be collected, transported, disposed, managed, or any combination thereof, according to the requirements of this article, and the rules of the department or the health department, as authorized by this article, and if disposed of in this state, shall be disposed in a permitted landfill or permitted incineration, or reduced in volume through composting, materials recovery, or other existing or future means approved by and according to the requirements of the department, under authorities granted by this article.
(b) The creation, contribution to, or operation of an unauthorized dump is declared to be a public nuisance per se, a menace to public health, and a violation of this article. In addition to other remedies which are available, an unauthorized dump may be enjoined through an action in the circuit court having jurisdiction over the property in which the violation occurred. In addition to any fines, penalties, and other remedies set forth herein, any person who participates in the creation or operation of an unauthorized dump, or contributed to an unauthorized dump, shall be responsible for the removal of the waste or otherwise the closure of the unauthorized dump in accordance with this article and rules of the department. If those who created, operated, or contributed to an unauthorized dump do not remove or close the unauthorized dump, the landowner shall also be responsible for the removal or otherwise the closure of the unauthorized dump. An innocent landowner, as further detailed by department rules, shall have access to the Solid Waste Fund to pay for reasonable or actual costs of investigation, required cleanup, and closure of the dump, subject to a ranking system established by the department through rules. Landowners shall cooperate with local governments or the department, or both, in stopping unauthorized dumping and removing the waste or otherwise closing an unauthorized dump in accordance with this article, and where applicable, the rules of the department. Innocent landowners who do not participate in the creation or operation of an unauthorized dump, and who have not contributed to the unauthorized dump, shall not be liable for any fines, costs, actions, punishments, sanctions, or penalties under this article if they are part of the site ranking system established in accordance with department rules to use the Solid Waste Fund to remove the waste or otherwise close the unauthorized dump in accordance with this article and rules of the department with reasonable diligence after written notice. Unless excepted, each landowner shall be liable for applicable fines, penalties, and sanctions under this article if he or she fails to remove the waste or otherwise close the unauthorized dump with reasonable diligence after written notice. It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to comply with an administrative order from the department or, unless excepted, to knowingly or intentionally abandon an unauthorized dump without either removing the waste or otherwise closing the unauthorized dump in accordance with this article and the rules of the department. The sale or lease of land does not constitute an abandonment within the meaning of this section, however, the purchaser or lessee shall not be considered an innocent landowner.
(c) Open burning at a solid waste management facility is prohibited except as necessary to respond to emergencies and pursuant to a restricted burning approval issued by the department. Approved open burning operations must also comply with all applicable federal, state, and local air pollution control laws and regulations.
(d) The permittee shall be responsible for the compliance of a permitted facility with all applicable rules notwithstanding the performance of compliance-related duties by independent contractors or agents.
(e) No provision of this article and no rule promulgated under the authority of this article shall be construed to be a limitation on any of the following:
(1) The power of a municipality or county to declare, prohibit, or abate public nuisances; provided no municipality, county, or solid waste authority utilizes or adopts definitions related to any of the subjects or activities contained within this article that are not consistent with the definitions contained in Section 22-27-2, as may be amended from time to time.
(2) The power of the Attorney General to bring an action in the name of the State of Alabama to enforce this article, including, but not limited to, enjoining any public nuisance.
(3) The power of any state agency in the enforcement or administration of any law it is specifically permitted or required to enforce or administer.
(4) The right of any person to maintain at any time any appropriate action for relief against any private nuisance.
(f) Nothing contained in this article shall be construed in any way to abridge or alter civil or criminal rights of action or remedies now or hereafter existing. No provision of this article, or the granting of any permit under this article, or any act done by virtue of this article, shall be construed as prohibiting the state, counties, municipalities, or its citizens in the exercise of their rights from proceeding to suppress public nuisances, to abate any pollution now or hereafter existing, or to enforce any law. Nothing in this article shall be construed in any way to alter or abridge that authority granted under Chapter 3A of Title 11.
Last modified: May 3, 2021