BATON ROUGE – A man who was caught on tape illegally dumping waste tires at a promiscuous dump in Laplace pled guilty yesterday to a charge of littering. Ronald Michael Robinson, 48, of 2912 Concordia Street in LaPlace received a $320 fine and two days in jail.

 The illegal dump for waste tires and white goods in LaPlace has been an ongoing problem for St. John the Baptist Parish.  The Department of Environmental Quality Criminal Investigation Division working in cooperation with the St. John Parish Sheriff’s department placed surveillance cameras at the dumpsite and recorded an individual disposing of waste tires.  Cameras recorded the license plate and investigators were able to locate the driver.

“Cooperation between the local sheriffs and police departments and the state is important,” said Robert Williamson, Supervisor of CID. “The St. John Parish Sheriff’s department did a great job in response to the problem.”

“The criminal investigation of illegal dumping is a state mandate of LDEQ and vigorous enforcement of criminals who choose to ignore the law and cause environmental harm is among our highest priorities.” said Beau James Brock, Assistant to the Secretary.

Under Louisiana law, anyone who willfully or knowingly discharges or disposes a substance that is not hazardous to human life or health, but in violation of state law, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and may be fined up to $25,000 per violation (including costs of prosecution) and imprisonment of up to one year in jail, or both.