Michigan DEQ Convicts Man of False Tire Disposal

A Michigan Department of Environmental Quality investigation has resulted in the successful prosecution of an Algonac, Mich., man for violating Michigan’s scrap tire laws.

Charles Lee Fanson was charged with forgery, uttering and publishing, illegal scrap tire disposal, and scrap tire hauling violations.

Fanson, a scrap tire hauler, collected payment and transported scrap tires in 1999 from Blue Water Tires of Chesterfield Township, Mich., to Storage USA where he abandoned them in a storage unit. Storage USA was forced to arrange for proper disposal of the tires at its expense. Until the completion of the DEQ investigation, Blue Water Tires had not been informed that the scrap tires never reached a properly registered scrap tire collection site.

Fanson fabricated Michigan scrap tire manifests to provide misleading information indicating that the tires from Blue Water Tire had been delivered to a registered collection site in Flat Rock, Mich. He also misled DEQ regulators on his registration application by failing to disclose the unregistered collection site at Storage USA.

The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office authorized charges against Fanson on June 22, 2001. He pleaded guilty to a scrap tire violation and an amended charge of attempted forgery on Dec. 3, 2001. Fanson was sentenced on Jan. 29

The court did not revoke Fanson’s scrap tire hauling registration but did say that it would be revoked for any further violations of environmental regulations.

“We expect honest and accurate recordkeeping from the regulated community and fortunately most people comply,” said DEQ Director Russell Harding.  “But when an unscrupulous few attempt to skirt the law, it diminishes the credibility of the system and jeopardizes our shared resources. I applaud the professionalism of our DEQ investigators and appreciate the support of local authorities in handling this case.”