§ 8-6-205 - Illegal actions -- Rebuttable presumption -- Acts or omissions by third party. - Arkansas Statutes

8-6-205. Illegal actions -- Rebuttable presumption -- Acts or omissions by third party.

(a) It shall be illegal for any person:

(1) To violate any provision of this subchapter or any rule, regulation, or order of the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission issued pursuant to this subchapter or of a permit issued under this subchapter by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality;

(2) To construct, install, alter, modify, use, or operate any solid waste processing or disposal facility or disposal site without a permit from the department;

(3) To dispose of solid wastes at any disposal site or facility other than a disposal site or facility for which a permit has been issued by the department. However, no provision of this subchapter shall be construed so as to prevent an individual from disposing of solid wastes resulting from his or her own household activities on his or her own land if the disposal does not create a public or private nuisance or a hazard to health and does not violate a city ordinance or other law and does not involve the open dumping of garbage;

(4) To dump, deposit, throw, or in any manner leave or abandon any solid wastes, including, but not limited to, garbage, tin cans, bottles, rubbish, refuse, or trash upon property owned by another person without the written permission of the owner or occupant of the property or upon any public highway, street, road, public park or recreation area, or any other public property except as designated for disposal of waste; or

(5) To sort, collect, transport, process, or dispose of solid waste contrary to the rules, regulations, or orders of the department or in such a manner or place as to create or be likely to create a public nuisance or a public health hazard or to cause or be likely to cause water or air pollution within the meaning of the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act, 8-4-101 et seq.

(b) There is created a rebuttable presumption that shall arise in any administrative, civil, or criminal action under this subchapter to the effect that, if it can be proved that one (1) or more items of solid waste bear the name or names of one (1) or more persons in such a form as to indicate that the person or persons were the owners of those items and those items were unlawfully disposed of, then the person or persons are presumed to have committed the unlawful act of disposal.

(c) No person shall be liable for any violation of this subchapter or of any rule, regulation, or order of the commission issued pursuant to this subchapter if the violation results solely from the act or omission of a third party, unless the person has knowingly allowed the violation to occur through acquiescence, acts, or omissions.