Illegal dumping and littering is a chronic problem throughout Los Angeles County.

Everywhere you go you can see trash that has been carelessly discarded, or intentionally dumped.

The effort to clean all of this tossed and dumped trash is enormous. The Community Hiking Club's Stewardship committee spent three long days picking up and hauling truck load after truck load of discarded construction materials, furniture (tables, couches, mattresses), and miscellaneous trash out of just one area of Santa Clarita.

When the club's director returned to take photos of the newly cleaned area, a pile of exercise equipment had been dumped. Recent other dump sites have includedtwo refrigerators and construction materials along Placerita Canyon ... one of these dump sites was along the trail of the Placerita Nature Center.

Did these criminal dumpers even think about the way this would look along the trail, and how many hikes were ruined by families looking at it? Placerita is a very well kept, beautiful, pristine area. To have it trashed like this is more than a crime.

Well, dumpers and litter makers, watch out. I have had it with you, and so has the rest of Santa Clarita, including the Sheriff's Department. Did you know that the minimum penalty for tossing a tissue out of your window is $1,000?

That's just for a little litter. How about you criminal dumpers? Do you know the maximum penalty for your illegal actions? Check out http://ladpw.org/epd/illdump/penalty.cfm if you don't believe me.

California Penal Code 374.3 states that the penalty for dumping on either public or private property is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, six months in jail, and the Sheriff has the right to seize the vehicle used in the act of illegal dumping.

Now, weigh that against a trip to the dump. The dump fees are sounding cheaper all the time. And, if you live in Santa Clarita, did you know that you can take your large items to your trash company for legal drop-off for free?!

Just check in with the office and tell them what you're bringing in. Kind of makes you look stupid for dumping, now doesn't it?

Next time you're thinking about dumping, think about the Sheriff's Department who is looking for you, of the Forest Service Ranger who is taking down your license plate, and for me, waiting behind a tree with my camera, filming the whole incident to use in court. Y

ou will get caught. It is only a matter of time. Think you want to save the dump fee? Think again .. .you might lose your truck, sixmonths of work and $10,000 the next time you dump your load.

Now you've been warned. Don't say no one told you.