Ohio EPA Orders Scrap Tire Removal at Site in Jackson County

The Ohio EPA has ordered Bruce Clark to spray and remove approximately 1,000 scrap tires from a four-acre property he owns in Jackson, Ohio.

The scrap tires are stored in a haphazard manner, creating a fire hazard and a potential threat to public health as a possible breeding ground for mosquitoes. The site is neither licensed nor permitted as a scrap tire collection facility or a solid waste disposal facility. In March 2003, Ohio EPA, along with the Jackson County Health Department, began a series of inspections and communications with Clark, informing him of the violations at his property. The latest inspection in July 2006 revealed no substantive changes at the site.

Ohio EPA is ordering Clark to undertake mosquito control measures as necessary; establish orderly storage piles and fire lanes; and have all scrap tires removed within four months to a licensed solid waste disposal facility and document this to Ohio EPA. Ohio EPA administers a fund for scrap tire removal projects. Those responsible for illegal scrap tire accumulations are ordered to remove the tires. If this is not done, Ohio EPA can hire a contractor to begin or complete the removal and seek to recover the costs. Under Ohio law, Ohio EPA must choose companies for scrap tire removal that propose to reuse or recycle the scrap tires.

State-funded scrap tire abatement projects are supported by a $1 fee collected from each new tire sold in Ohio. Since 1997, approximately 32 million scrap tires have been cleaned up under the program. In addition, $1 million is allocated annually from the scrap tire fund to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention, to provide financial assistance to businesses and solid waste management districts, which team up to recycle the tires.