The process for addressing illegal dumping sites can be complex and may require handoff to and coordination by several county departments, possibly including agencies outside of Fairfax County responsibility (e.g. Virginia Department of Environmental Quality).  DCC will remain the lead agency for any illegal dumping case brought to their attention, either directly by a complainant, or indirectly as referenced by another agency. As such, the procedure that has been developed to address illegal dumping is as follows:

1. Resident contacts Department of Code Compliance (DCC) via telephone at 703-324-1300, TTY 711, or via internet to file a complaint, or another agency directs a complaint to DCC.
2. DCC Intake Staff review and understand the specifics of the complaint from the resident, or other agency, and creates a service request.
3. Upon review of the service request by DCC Intake Staff, a determination is made as to whether it is DCC or another county agency that has the capability and the responsibility for responding to and addressing the complaint.

If DCC is responsible for addressing the complaint:

• The service case file is created and given to the Operations Manager for distribution to the appropriate Division Supervisor, depending of the location of the property.
• The Division Supervisor reviews the case and assigns it to an Investigator in FIDO. The case is now considered to be under active investigation.
• The investigator contacts the complainant within four (4) calendar days to provide contact information and to obtain more specific information if required.
• Within fourteen (14) days the investigator completes his background information on the case and conducts an initial investigation of the property.
• Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the case will be closed if there is no violation or a Notice of Violation may be issued to the property owner if there is cause to do so.

If another County agency is responsible for addressing the complaint: 

• DCC contacts the appropriate County agency to explain the issue and to provide the information obtained from the service file. The complaint then becomes the responsibility of that agency to address and resolve.
  1. Abandoned Vehicles
     • Complaints about four or more abandoned vehicles are sent to the Fairfax County Police Department
     • Complaints about five or more vehicles are sent to DCC
  2. Solid waste complaints or issues associated with facilities regulated by Fairfax County go to Fairfax County Health Department - 703-246-2411, TTY 711
  3. Solid waste complaints or issues associated with an active construction site go to Land Development Services – 703-324-1720, TTY 711
  4. Solid waste complaints or issues associated with a blighted property go to DCC
  5. Solid waste complaints or issues associated with waste handling or management processes internal to a building (e.g., trash chutes) go to DCC
  6. Solid waste complaints or issues associated with waste handling or management processes outside the building go to Department of Public Works and Environmental Services-Solid Waste Management (DPWES-MSW) - 703-324-5230, TTY 711
  7. Solid waste complaints or issues associated with property or facilities regulated by Facilities Management Division (FMD) go to FMD - 703-324-2825, TTY 711
  8. Solid waste complaints or issues associated with property or facilities regulated by Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) go to FCPA
  9. If property ownership is unclear, DPWES-MSW may provide for junk/trash removal for as long as funds remain in its “Community Clean Up” fund. 
• DCC will remain the lead agency for the illegal dumping case, responsible for continued contact with the agency to assure that necessary coordination, meetings, and actions are carried out by the responsible county agency to achieve an acceptable final resolution of the complaint.

Complaints are routinely routed between agencies (in both directions) according to this arrangement.