HB 1677 creates a new environmental offense in Indiana law for depositing contaminants or solid waste on land owned or controlled by another person. The bill makes it a crime when a person knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly deposits, or causes or allows the deposit of, at least 30 square feet of contaminants or solid waste on another person’s land, unless the disposal occurs through an approved method such as a sanitary landfill, incineration, composting, garbage grinding, or another method acceptable to the board.
The bill also covers repeated dumping: a person who deposits any amount of contaminants or solid waste on another person’s land on two or more separate occasions, outside of approved disposal methods, commits the same offense. A companion provision adds the new offense to Indiana’s criminal code chapter identifying crimes concerning the environment. The bill is effective July 1, 2025.
Impact
HB 1677 amends Indiana Code Title 13 and Title 35 by adding a new misdemeanor offense related to illegal dumping and by cross-referencing that offense in the criminal code. It expands enforcement tools for environmental and property-related waste disposal violations, potentially affecting individuals, businesses, and others who dispose of waste on property they do not own or control. The offense is classified as a Class C misdemeanor, which can expose violators to criminal penalties under Indiana law.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support and little visible opposition. It was reported out of both the House Environmental Affairs Committee and the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee with unanimous votes of 13-0 in each committee, and it later passed House third reading 95-0. That voting record suggests strong bipartisan agreement that illegal dumping should be addressed through criminal penalties.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive contention in the available materials. The main policy choices reflected in the committee amendment were to broaden the mens rea to include intentional conduct, define the threshold as 30 square feet or more, clarify that the dumping must occur on land owned or controlled by another person, and specify that repeated dumping of any amount on two or more occasions is also covered. Those changes suggest the only notable discussion centered on how to define the offense precisely rather than whether to create it.