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<baltimore-city-law heading="§ 7-102 Findings and declaration of public policy.">
  <section prefix="§" num="7-102" heading="Findings and declaration of public policy.">
    <para num="(a)" heading="Findings.">The Mayor and City Council finds that:<para num="(1)">the dumping of waste and other material is a sickening blight on the streets, sidewalks, parks, open spaces, and waters of the City;</para>
      <para num="(2)">as the available amount of landfill space decreases, incidents of dumping have increased, most notoriously (though not exclusively) by those involved in the construction business; and</para>
      <para num="(3)">this dumping of waste, as well as its collection and transportation, is a serious threat to the environment and the health, welfare, safety, peace, and comfort of the City’s inhabitants.</para>
    </para>
    <para num="(b)" heading="Policy.">The Mayor and City Council declares as a matter of policy that, to eliminate these hazards, it is necessary to:<para num="(1)">strictly regulate the collection, transportation, and disposal of all waste in the City;</para>
      <para num="(2)">expand the prohibitions against illegal dumping; and</para>
      <para num="(3)">increase the penalties for violations.</para>
    </para>
    <para num="(c)" heading="Commissioner to regulate.">Because of the serious health and environmental consequences, the Commissioner of Health is granted jurisdiction over the collection, transportation, and disposition of waste by commercial haulers and other persons in the City.</para>
    <annotation type="Prior Codifications">City Code, 1976/83, art. 11, §§135(a), 220(parts), 264(a)</annotation>
    <annotation type="History">Ord. 99-548</annotation>
  </section>
</baltimore-city-law>
