For all too long dumping trash illegally has been thought of as a minor offense by all too many. We would hope to open some eyes with our series of articles in recent issues.

With the arrest of two men in Refugio County this week, the issue takes a turn because these fellows are accused of dumping loads of used tires all over South Texas, including the Beeville area.

Such illegal activity is a state jail felony punishable by up to two years in a state jail and $10,000 fine if the materials exceed more than 1,000 pounds or have a volume of 200 cubic feet or more. It also becomes a state jail felony if someone is disposing of the materials for commercial purposes.

“It’s illegal if someone is making money off the venture,” Dennis DeWitt of the Bee County Health Department explained this week. “If they benefit from it, from hauling the materials away and disposing of it, then they are criminally liable.”

DeWitt further said, “It’s not only the person doing the dumping that gets in trouble – not only the person driving the dump truck or who owns the dump trucks or pickup trucks — but the people who contracted to have the tires, appliances or construction materials hauled away, and the people who own the property in Bee County where the tires, appliances and construction materials end up.”

The legal options in Bee County include the city’s waste station located at the old fair grounds off U.S. Highway 59 for city residents; and two transfer stations run by the county. One is located just north of Normanna off East Kings Lane and is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The second, just north of Skidmore on U.S. Highway 181 across from Evergreen Cemetery, is open from noon-5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

So there are legal options for residents needing to dispose of refuse. The illegal dumping is not only an eyesore, but a health hazard.

And while we’ve called for the cleanup of Beeville and Bee County many times over the years, we would ask residents to claim ownership of the entire county. That’s right. It’s your county.

If you see someone illegally dumping, get a license plate number and phone 9-1-1. If a dumped load suddenly shows up overnight, phone it in. Evidence is best gathered fresh and waiting days or weeks for officials to run across the site could make tracking down the culprits more difficult.

If residents become proactive with a neighborhood watch type approach, suddenly a few small fees at the transfer station will seem much more palatable than stiff fines and jail time. People dump illegally because they think they can get away with it. We can all make a difference there.