The legislative assembly finds that:

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 23.1-08-01

  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

1.    The people of North Dakota have a right to a clean environment, and the costs of maintaining a clean environment through the efficient environmentally acceptable management of solid wastes should be borne by those who use such services.

2.    Serious economic, management, and technical problems exist in the management of solid wastes resulting from residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, and other activities carried on in said jurisdictions.

3.    Inefficient and improper methods of managing solid wastes create serious hazards to the public health, result in scenic blights, cause pollution of air and water resources, cause accident hazards, increase rodent and insect disease vectors, have an adverse effect on land values, create public nuisances, and otherwise interfere with community life and development.

4.    While the management of solid wastes is the responsibility of each person, problems of solid waste management have become a matter statewide in scope and concern, and necessitate state action through technical assistance and leadership in the application of new improved methods and processes to reduce the amount of solid wastes and unsalvageable materials and to promote environmentally acceptable and economical solid waste management.