OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Town of Arkwright Justice John Potter shared his thoughts on a dumping law revision at a recent Town Board meeting.

ARKWRIGHT — Illegal dumping in the Town of Arkwright has been a problem for many years. But the law pertaining to the commonly committed offense had not been updated since 1972. The Arkwright Town Board fixed that at its most recent meeting, as after a public hearing was held, the Town Board voted unanimously to approve updates to the law.

“We have had some issues with dumping, we’ve had some battles over dumping. Then we look at the law, it’s from 1972, and it’s 50 bucks. We looked at that and thought we’d bring it up to modern times,” said Town Supervisor Brian McAvoy. “It’s not going to solve all of our societal ills, but I think it’s a step in the right direction. There’s no risk to this.”

Among the changes to the new law is an increase in fines from $50 now up to $500. The town reserves the right for imprisonment up to 10 days, though Town Justice John Potter admitted during public comments that imprisonment for dumping law violations is highly unlikely. The law also states that anyone who brings materials into the town to burn the materials will also be treated as violators of the dumping law.

“It’s a well-intentioned law, in the interest of the public good … but if someone’s going to be a bad enough person to dump illegally, they don’t give a real care about paying a fine,” Potter said.

McAvoy responded, “We’re not going to solve societal ills. If someone’s not going to comply with the law, they’re not going to comply with the law. We can’t fix that.”

Enforcement will remain the same as presently, with Code Enforcement Officer Ed Pagano and the Highway Department, led by Supervisor Lisa Waldron, handling the brunt of the violations. Once caught, violators will be handled by the Town of Arkwright Court and/or the Department of Environmental Conservation.

“We haven’t done much to step up enforcement, but what we hope is that by raising the penalty and posting signs to that effect, that it does a better job of deterrence,” said McAvoy.

The dumping law, like many other local laws recently updated or set to be updated, will be revisited at the annual organizational meeting.

“We can always do more. We can always change. Laws are put on the books with the intent to change. Sometimes you take baby steps and it doesn’t hit the home run,” McAvoy said. “One of the problems in the Town of Arkwright is we let perfect be the enemy of good. We always strive for that perfect solution, and we spend years not doing stuff.”

“You’ve got to start somewhere,” Board Member Chris Jackson said.