Trash talking

The Howard Hughes Corp. to hike reward for reporting desert dumpers

View file photosTop and bottom right, trash sits in the open desert at the end of Maule Avenue, Sept. 30. Bottom left, Robyn Yates, vice president of marketing for Windermere Services Nevada, helps clean up a section of Bureau of Land Management land at the foot of Sunrise Mountain, Oct. 16. The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties and developer of Summerlin, plans to increase the reward offered for reporting desert dumpers on Summerlin land from $100 to $200, with the money to be handed over after the violator pays the fines. View file photosTop and bottom right, trash sits in the open desert at the end of Maule Avenue, Sept. 30. Bottom left, Robyn Yates, vice president of marketing for Windermere Services Nevada, helps clean up a section of Bureau of Land Management land at the foot of Sunrise Mountain, Oct. 16. The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties and developer of Summerlin, plans to increase the reward offered for reporting desert dumpers on Summerlin land from $100 to $200, with the money to be handed over after the violator pays the fines. View file photosTop and bottom right, trash sits in the open desert at the end of Maule Avenue, Sept. 30. Bottom left, Robyn Yates, vice president of marketing for Windermere Services Nevada, helps clean up a section of Bureau of Land Management land at the foot of Sunrise Mountain, Oct. 16. The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties and developer of Summerlin, plans to increase the reward offered for reporting desert dumpers on Summerlin land from $100 to $200, with the money to be handed over after the violator pays the fines. Advertisement

The Howard Hughes Corp. is on a mission, a mission to end desert dumping. It's on track to increase the reward for reporting such acts on its undeveloped land.

"If we get people paying attention more, and they get (more) bucks for it, we can get a handle on the problem," said Tom Warden, senior vice president of community and government relations for The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties and developer of Summerlin.

Right now, anyone who reports a dumper gets a $100 reward, handed over after the violator pays the fines.

Warden spoke at the Southern Nevada Health District's November board meeting, and the two sides agreed to double the reward to $200 on Summerlin land. The logistics of how Hughes will supplement the current reward or when the increase will take effect still are being worked out.

The amount of items left in the desert has taken on new life, with more and more homeowners tossing items as foreclosure looms, Warden said.

"We joke that the abandoned furniture is of a higher quality because it's from Summerlin, but it's still a blight," he said. "You walk out there and see how lazy people are. It's like trying to get a teenager to clean their room."

The push to increase the reward follows an Oct. 17 desert cleanup that targeted 200-plus acres at the southern tip of Summerlin. It was a concerted effort involving Hughes, Don't Trash Nevada, the UNLV Public Lands Institute, Get Outdoors Nevada, the Bureau of Land Management, the health district and Clark County.

It resulted in the removal of 325 tons of trash, including abandoned furniture, landscape waste and construction spoils.

Much of the debris consisted of items that Republic Services' policies cover picking up curbside.

"People unnecessarily go out of their way to break the law, haul trash out to the desert and risk getting a fine," said Bob Coyle, vice president of Republic Services Las Vegas. "It doesn't make any sense."

Before the Oct. 17 effort, Warden said the mass cleanup was "not just another desert cleanup. This needs to kick off a desert stewardship program ... to get a handle on the problem."

Summerlin has 7,000 acres of raw land yet to be developed and wants to keep it clean, Warden said. Hughes also hopes developers throughout the valley will work with the health district and create similar programs to eradicate desert dumping on their land.

Beth Barrie, project manager of the interagency volunteer program for the UNLV Public Lands Institute, said desert dumping is a valleywide problem.

"It's overwhelming," Barrie said. "The BLM has identified more than 200 sites that need to be cleaned up ... and that's just in Clark County."

Dumping is not just an eyesore, it can also be toxic. Amy Irani, environmental health supervisor for the solid waste and compliance section of the health district, said items such as motor oil, paint and construction items often have heavy metals in them that filter down through the ground and get into the water system.

Waste cement also has heavy metals, yet it's not uncommon to see cement trucks stopped in the desert.

"These guys take a shortcut and clean out their cement trucks at a vacant site instead of doing it the right way," she said.

Perhaps those most affected by the blight are homeowners. Raffi Jelozian, a resident of south Summerlin, said that when he and his girlfriend go hiking, they see desert dumping everywhere.

He agreed that increasing the reward was a good idea, but said that fines for dumping should be higher and penalties should include community service, such as cleaning up after other desert dumpers, so they'd have "a taste of their own medicine."

Currently, dumpers can be charged with violating two state statues: operating a disposal site without a permit, and placing and depositing solid waste on a site not permitted for that intent.

Each violation carries a $900 fine. Depending on the circumstances, two other violations could be charged, Irani said.

"So they could be looking at four times $900," she said.

Warden said people who don't think desert dumping is a big deal have never taken a walk there.

"The beauty of the desert is self-evident," he said. "This is where we live; it's about being a grown-up and being responsible to the community. People who value their home don't do this. The desert is our home."

To report desert dumping, call the health district from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 759-0600. After hours, call 759-1000.

Taking a picture with a cell phone and writing down the license plate number and any company logos are important for tracking down the dumper. Do not approach and engage the perpetrator.

Contact Summerlin View and South Summerlin View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.

Report desert dumping

To report desert dumpers, contact the Southern Nevada Health District from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 759-0600. After hours, call 759-1000.