2010 Pennsylvania Code
Title 18 - CRIMES AND OFFENSES
Chapter 65 - Nuisances
6501 - Scattering rubbish.

                                CHAPTER 65
                                NUISANCES

     Sec.
     6501.  Scattering rubbish.
     6502.  Refrigerators and iceboxes.
     6503.  Posting advertisements on property of another.
     6504.  Public nuisances.
     6505.  Discarding television sets and tubes.

        Enactment.  Chapter 65 was added December 6, 1972, P.L.1482,
     No.334, effective in six months.
     § 6501.  Scattering rubbish.
        (a)  Offense defined.--A person is guilty of an offense if
     he:
            (1)  causes any waste paper, sweepings, ashes, household
        waste, glass, metal, refuse or rubbish, or any dangerous or
        detrimental substance to be deposited into or upon any road,
        street, highway, alley or railroad right-of-way, or upon the
        land of another or into the waters of this Commonwealth;
            (2)  interferes with, scatters, or disturbs the contents
        of any receptacle containing ashes, garbage, household waste,
        or rubbish; or
            (3)  is the owner or operator, or an agent of either, of
        a trash, garbage or debris collection vehicle, including
        private automobiles and small trucks, or any other type of
        vehicles used to collect or transport trash, garbage or
        debris, who knowingly causes to be deposited or deposits the
        vehicle's load or any part thereof upon any road, street,
        highway, alley or railroad right-of-way, or upon the land of
        another or into the waters of this Commonwealth.
        (b)  Penalty.--
            (1)  A person who violates subsection (a)(1) or (2) is
        guilty of a summary offense for the first offense and upon
        conviction thereof shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not
        less than $50 nor more than $300 or to imprisonment for not
        more than 90 days, or both.
            (2)  A person who violates subsection (a)(1) or (2) is
        guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree for the second
        and subsequent offense and upon conviction thereof shall be
        sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $300 nor more than
        $1,000. The person also may be sentenced to imprisonment or
        to performing a community service for a period not to exceed
        one year.
            (3)  A person who violates subsection (a)(3) is guilty of
        a misdemeanor of the second degree for the first offense and
        upon conviction thereof shall be sentenced to pay a fine of
        not less than $500 nor more than $5,000. The person also may
        be sentenced to imprisonment or to performing a community
        service for a period not to exceed two years.
            (4)  A person who violates subsection (a)(3) is guilty of
        a misdemeanor of the first degree for the second or
        subsequent offense and upon conviction thereof shall be
        sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than
        $10,000. The person also may be sentenced to imprisonment or
        to performing a community service for a period not to exceed
        five years.
            (5)  Any vehicle, equipment or conveyance, including any
        private automobile and small truck, used for the
        transportation or disposal of trash, garbage or debris in the
        commission of a second or subsequent offense under subsection
        (a)(3) may be deemed contraband and forfeited in accordance
        with the provisions set forth in this section.
        (c)  Arrest powers.--A police officer shall have the same
     right of arrest without a warrant as in a felony whenever the
     officer has probable cause to believe the defendant has violated
     subsection (a)(3), although the offense did not take place in
     the officer's presence. A police officer may not make a
     warrantless arrest pursuant to this section without first
     observing recent evidence of a subsection (a)(3) offense or
     other corroborative evidence.
        (d)  Forfeiture.--
            (1)  Property subject to forfeiture under this section
        may be seized by the law enforcement authority upon process
        issued by any court of common pleas having jurisdiction over
        the property.
            (2)  Property taken or detained under this section shall
        not be subject to replevin but is deemed to be in the custody
        of the law enforcement authority subject only to the orders
        and decrees of the court of common pleas having jurisdiction
        over the forfeiture proceedings and of the district attorney.
        When property is seized under this section, the law
        enforcement authority shall place the property under seal and
        either:
                (i)  remove the property to a place designated by it;
            or
                (ii)  require that the district attorney take custody
            of the property and remove it to an appropriate location
            for disposition in accordance with law.
            (3)  Whenever property is forfeited under this section,
        the property shall be transferred to the custody of the
        municipal corporation. The municipal corporation shall sell
        any forfeited property, but the proceeds from any such sale
        shall be used to pay all proper expenses of the proceedings
        for forfeiture and sale, including expenses of seizure,
        maintenance of custody, advertising and court costs. The
        balance of the proceeds shall be used for the enforcement of
        this act.
            (4)  The proceedings for the forfeiture or condemnation
        of property, the sale of which is provided for in this
        section, shall be in rem, in which the Commonwealth shall be
        the plaintiff and the property the defendant. A petition
        shall be filed in the court of common pleas of the judicial
        district where the property is located, verified by oath or
        affirmation of an officer or citizen, containing the
        following:
                (i)  A description of the property seized.
                (ii)  A statement of the time and place where seized.
                (iii)  The owner, if known.
                (iv)  The person or persons in possession, if known.
                (v)  An allegation that the property is subject to
            forfeiture pursuant to this subsection and an averment of
            material facts upon which the forfeiture action is based.
                (vi)  A prayer for an order of forfeiture that the
            property be adjudged forfeited to the Commonwealth and
            condemned and be ordered sold according to law, unless
            cause be shown to the contrary.
            (5)  A copy of the petition required under paragraph (4)
        shall be served personally or by certified mail on the owner
        or upon the person or persons in possession at the time of
        the seizure. The copy shall have endorsed a notice, as
        follows:
                To the Claimant of within Described Property:
            You are required to file an answer to this petition,
            setting forth your title in, and right to possession of,
            the property within 30 days from the service hereof, and
            you are also notified that, if you fail to file the
            answer, a decree of forfeiture and condemnation will be
            entered against the property.
        The notice shall be signed by the district attorney, deputy
        district attorney or assistant district attorney.
            (6)  If the owner of the property is unknown or there was
        no person in possession of the property when seized or if the
        owner or such person or persons in possession at the time of
        the seizure cannot be personally served or located within the
        jurisdiction of the court, notice of the petition shall be
        given by the Commonwealth through an advertisement in only
        one newspaper of general circulation published in the county
        where the property shall have been seized, once a week for
        two successive weeks. No other advertisement of any sort
        shall be necessary, any other law to the contrary
        notwithstanding. The notice shall contain a statement of the
        seizure of the property with a description of the property
        and the place and date of seizure and shall direct any
        claimants to the property to file a claim on or before a date
        given in the notice, which date shall not be less than 30
        days from the date of the first publication. If no claims are
        filed within 30 days of publication, the property shall
        summarily forfeit to the Commonwealth.
            (7)  For purposes of this section, the owner or other
        such person cannot be found in the jurisdiction of the court
        if:
                (i)  a copy of the petition is mailed to the last
            known address by certified mail and is returned without
            delivery;
                (ii)  personal service is attempted once but cannot
            be made at the last known address; and
                (iii)  a copy of the petition is left at the last
            known address.
            (8)  The notice provisions of this section are
        automatically waived when the owner, without good cause,
        fails to appear in court in response to a subpoena on the
        underlying criminal charges. Forty-five days after such a
        failure to appear, if good cause has not been demonstrated,
        the property shall summarily forfeit to the Commonwealth.
            (9)  Upon the filing of a claim for the property setting
        forth a right of possession, the case shall be deemed at
        issue and a time shall be fixed for the hearing.
            (10)  At the time of the hearing, if the Commonwealth
        produces evidence that the property in question was
        unlawfully used, possessed or otherwise subject to forfeiture
        under this section, the burden shall be upon the claimant to
        show:
                (i)  That the claimant is the owner of the property
            or the holder of a chattel mortgage or contract of
            conditional sale thereon.
                (ii)  That the claimant lawfully acquired the
            property.
                (iii)  That it was not unlawfully used or possessed
            by him. In the event that it shall appear that the
            property was unlawfully used or possessed by a person
            other than the claimant, then the claimant shall show
            that the unlawful use or possession was without his
            knowledge or consent. Such absence of knowledge or
            consent must be reasonable under the circumstances
            presented.
            (11)  If a person claiming the ownership of or right of
        possession to or claiming to be the holder of a chattel
        mortgage or contract of conditional sale upon the property,
        the disposition of which is provided for in this section,
        prior to the sale presents a petition to the court alleging
        over the property lawful ownership, right of possession, a
        lien or reservation of title and if, upon public hearing, due
        notice of which having been given to the district attorney,
        the claimant shall prove by competent evidence to the
        satisfaction of the court that the property was lawfully
        acquired, possessed and used by him or, it appearing that the
        property was unlawfully used by a person other than the
        claimant, that the unlawful use was without the claimant's
        knowledge or consent, then the court may order the property
        returned or delivered to the claimant. Such absence of
        knowledge or consent must be reasonable under the
        circumstances presented. Otherwise, it shall be retained for
        official use or sold in accordance with paragraph (4).
        (e)  Responsibility for costs.--The operator, owner or agent
     of any vehicle, equipment or conveyance, including private
     automobiles and small trucks, forfeited under this section shall
     be responsible for any costs incurred in properly disposing of
     waste in the vehicle, equipment or conveyance.
        (f)  Exception.--Subsection (a)(3) does not apply to the
     lawful depositing of waste at any site regulated by the
     Department of Environmental Resources.
        (g)  Other available rights and remedies.--The proceedings
     specified in this section shall not, in any way, limit the right
     of the Commonwealth to exercise any rights or remedies otherwise
     provided by law.
     (Mar. 22, 1974, P.L.207, No.42; Apr. 28, 1978, P.L.202, No.53,
     eff. 60 days; Mar. 25, 1988, P.L.262, No.31, eff. imd.; May 31,
     1990, P.L.219, No.47, eff. 60 days)

        1990 Amendment.  Section 3 of Act 47 provided that the
     amendment shall apply to all offenses committed on or after the
     effective date of Act 47.
        References in Text.  The Department of Environmental
     Resources, referred to in subsec. (f), was abolished by Act 18
     of 1995. Its functions were transferred to the Department of
     Conservation and Natural Resources and the Department of
     Environmental Protection.
        Cross References.  Section 6501 is referred to in section
     4116 of this title; section 3573 of Title 42 (Judiciary and
     Judicial Procedure); section 3742.1 of Title 75 (Vehicles).