Cameras monitor dumping

One image shows a dump truck pulling up to a secluded area and dumping asphalt. Another has a man jumping out of a sport utility vehicle and unloading some auto parts. The video images are grainy and somewhat fuzzy, but according to city and state officials, the actions in them are clear: The pictures catch violators in the act of illegally dumping waste in Lawrence.

In ‘‘hot spots’’ around the city, officials have set up hidden cameras designed to combat the illegal dumping that has been a constant problem for Lawrence. Installed by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Strike Force, the surveillance cameras have been quietly recording alleged environmental crimes since this summer.

Now it’s time to let residents know about the program, said Lawrence Mayor Michael J. Sullivan, so they can help authorities with the crackdown and help city officials clean up the city.

‘‘For years, illegal dumping has been widespread in this city, in our lots, in our waterways and sometimes even on the homeowners’ front lawns,’’ Sullivan said at a press conference Tuesday at 12 Acton St., a vacant lot in front of an auto repair shop and a notorious illegal dumping site. ‘‘Studies across the country show that an illegal dumping brings down the values of all of our properties. It increases crime, it spreads disease, it causes a high rate of littering and it sends a message that no one cares and no one is watching.’’

The new camera surveillance program shows that ‘‘we do care, we are watching and we will catch you if you commit an environmental crime in our city,’’ Sullivan said. All violators will be ‘‘aggressively pursued’’ under the law, he said.

Officials won’t say exactly where the cameras have been planted, but they are posted around five popular illegal dumping sites, with two or three cameras per site, and more to come.

So far, authorities have used the cameras to identify a dump truck from E.J. Paving Company Inc. of Methuen allegedly dumping asphalt last summer at the Acton Street site in the heart of Lawrence. The company was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and, as part of a recent consent order, agreed to remove the asphalt and other rubble from that site.

Thomas Evangelista, owner of E.J. Paving, said the company had been allowed to dump material there before, and the driver didn’t know the dumping was no longer allowed.

‘‘It was a misunderstanding,’’ Evangelista said. ‘‘We’re a respectable company that has been around for years. We’re not riding around Lawrence looking for places to dump.’’

Evangelista said he questions why Sullivan’s press conference was held just days before the mayoral election, when the dumping occurred back in July.

‘‘It’s political. We feel very strongly about that,’’ he said. Sullivan is running for reelection against City Councilor Marcos Devers.

Myles Burke, chief of staff for Sullivan, said last week’s announcement wasn’t political at all. Rather, it had to do with waiting for the case to finish in court and waiting for the DEP Strike Force to give the OK, said Burke.

‘‘We were looking to [make the announcement] just to highlight the issue,’’ Burke said. ‘‘We didn’t say, ‘Let’s wait until October so we can have a big hit for the election.’’’

He added that the case wasn’t settled until ‘‘late August, early September.’’

Ed Coletta, a spokesman for DEP, said the E.J. Paving case is the only one that has been prosecuted in Lawrence to date. He said two or three other cases are pending in Lawrence.

Robert W. Golledge Jr., commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said the state suspended $7,000 of the usual fine for illegal dumping in the E.J. Paving case because the company agreed to clean up the site.

‘‘It’s a benefit to the city and sends a message,’’ Golledge said. ‘‘This is the start, clearly not the finish.’’

Stephen R. Pritchard, the state’s environmental affairs secretary, agreed.

‘‘By publicly blowing a whistle on this kind of dumping activity, it’s going to send a loud and clear message to many of the bad actors out there,’’ said Pritchard. ‘‘Violators like these who deliberately dump material are cheating the rest of us.’’ He said the violators are passing on the cost of dumping materials to residents.

Pritchard said residents have a ‘‘constitutional right’’ to live in a place that isn’t contaminated by illegal dumping.

Due to the success of the surveillance program, the DEPT Strike Force will expand the anti-dumping campaign to other Massachusetts cities and help them purchase equipment and update local ordinances, Pritchard said. Currently, the state’s surveillance program is operating in Lawrence, Boston, and Leominster.

The digital video recorders hold up to eight days worth of images at sites, according to state officials. Once images are captured, city authorities review the recordings, looking for license plates and other evidence that could locate violators.

Lawrence Police Chief John Romero said not only will the program catch violators, it will be a deterrent against potential dumpers. He compared the program to the city’s anti-insurance fraud measures that have been responsible for the city’s decrease in reported auto theft crimes.

Jack Fitzpatrick, an owner of 11 apartment units in the city, said he’s glad city and state officials are finally going after those who contribute to illegal dumping in Lawrence. ‘‘It’s an eyesore,’’ Fitzpatrick said of the dumping sites around the city. ‘‘It’s like a cancer that creeps up and gets worse.’’

Fitzpatrick said people have dumped used tires on his property. ‘‘It’s a recurring problem,’’ he said. ‘‘It cost me $2 a tire to get rid of them and that’s money out of my pocket.’’

The new surveillance program should help fight illegal dumping, but Fitzpatrick said it can’t work without assistance from Lawrence residents. ‘‘People have to report,’’ he said, ‘‘and property owners have to be vigilant.’’