DEQ fines Coos County inmate for trash piled up on property

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) – Oregon environmental regulators issued a fine against a Coos County man for tons of trash piled up around his property near the Oregon Coast, but the case has a twist.
 
The Register-Guard reports (http://bit.ly/2y4gVs1 ) the state Department of Environmental Quality sent him notice of the $25,393 fine while he’s serving a five-year prison sentence.
 
Willy Joe Jenkins is an inmate at Snake River Correctional Institute in Ontario. He was convicted in 2015 of gun and methamphetamine crimes.
 
The DEQ gave Jenkins until mid-November to clean up the mess, but he still has more than two years to serve in prison, corrections officials said.
 
If Jenkins doesn’t pay the fine and do the work, the DEQ can place a lien on his property and claim payment if the property sells.