City revokes Sioux Falls Sanitation license, asks court for injunction

City officials have revoked the license of a Sioux Falls garbage company after it stopped picking up its customers trash last month.

The city of Sioux Falls sent a notice of revocation to Sioux Falls Sanitation on May 29, alleging the garbage hauler hasn’t provided service to its contracted customers since May 15 and doesn’t have the legally required insurance coverage for its vehicles.

As of Tuesday, Sioux Falls Sanitation was no longer listed as a licensed garbage hauler on the city’s website.

The company has until June 13 to appeal the decision and request a hearing.

“They have those rights,” Public Works Director Mark Cotter told the Argus Leader Tuesday evening. “If they present any new evidence, we’ll certainly listen to it. But if not, the decision will stand.”

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The city is also asking the court to grant an injunction to allow it to remove Dumpsters and trash receptacles belonging to Sioux Falls Sanitation from its customers’ properties.

According to the injunction request, Sioux Falls Health Director Jill Franken has “determined that the accumulating garbage in the Sioux Falls Sanitation dumpsters and/or receptacles imposes an imminent health threat to the city and immediate removal of the garbage and receptacles is necessary to protect the public health.”

The document also says the city would prefer Sioux Falls Sanitation remove the garbage that’s piling up at its customers’ properties, and the bins and Dumpsters holding them, but has been unable to reach the owner, Kay Kramer, since May 20.

Cotter said this week alone, the city received 94 calls from Sioux Falls Sanitation customers, with 74 of them requesting assistance in removing trash and bins from their homes and businesses.

More:Here's why angry customers are dumping their trash on this garbage hauler's doorstep

As a result, the city is using Novak Sanitary Service to pick up trash for residents and businesses left in the lurch. The city has a crew following Novak trucks, collecting the receptacles before taking them to the landfill where they will be stored until Sioux Falls Sanitation gets around to picking them up.

Cotter couldn’t say for certain if the city would be able to recoup the expenses its incurring as a result of having to collect trash from Sioux Falls Sanitation customers.

“Certainly, we’re documenting our costs, … but we’ll probably have to let the court decide that,” he said.

Sioux Falls Sanitation customers with accumulating trash are urged to contact the city at 605-367-8162.