DEARBORN — The Dearborn City Council voted to amend the “fugitive dust” ordinance in order to increase enforcement and fines for violations.

The ordinance was originally adopted last August.

“Fugitive dust” refers to visible particulate emissions created through mechanical processes or natural forces and comes from a variety of sources like dust blowing off of storage piles or dust distributed on unpaved roads or lots.

The amendments include increasing the fines for violations of the ordinances from $500 to $1,000, with an additional increase from $1,000 to $2,500 for repeat violations. A fourth violation in a 12-month time span would be classified as a misdemeanor, reducing time to correct notices of violation from 14 days to three days in order to better address ongoing nuisances and concerns and reduce the detrimental impact of dust pollution on surrounding properties and people, as well as requiring owners and operators of unpaved and partially paved lots with truck traffic to clean trucks leaving the lot, install rumble strips and have trucks pass through a wheel wash station.

Fines collected from the enforcement of this ordinance will be placed in a city fund to be used to pay for projects or initiatives designed to address public health, pollution prevention and reduction, and environmental protection and restoration.

More details about the ordinance can be found in Sec. 13-5.3 of the Code of Ordinances on the city’s website at www.cityofdearborn.org.

For more information about the enforcement of the ordinance, residents can call the Property Maintenance and Development Services Department (PMADS) at 313-943-2688.