Oklahoma Recycler May Face Fines

A recycling facility in northwest Oklahoma could face fines from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality for improper storage and for violating burning laws.

Spokesman Michael Dean said department attorneys are determining whether to fine Recyclers of Northwest Oklahoma, south of Woodward, for failure to remove solid waste it didn't have a permit for and for burning items at the facility.

"The whole thing is back in the hands of our attorneys," he said. "It still has to get cleaned up. That's first and foremost."

The issue started in June when the department received a complaint of open storage of solid waste. Bill Kropf, department environmental specialist, later found 533 cubic yards of dilapidated mobile homes and wood pallets on the south end of the property and saw that insulation and debris from those mobile homes had blown away.

The owners didn't have a landfill permit, which is required to store such items, and agreed to remove them by Sept. 23 or pay $5,333, according to the department consent order.

Later, the deadline was extended to Nov. 30. However, on Nov. 16, a spark from a cutting torch set a pile of wood on fire and it spread to the items in question, Woodward Fire Chief Jim Anderson said.

Company owner Bob Wells called the fire department to report that the flames were under control, but Kropf arrived later and called the fire department again to request help, Dean said.

It took firefighters four hours and nearly 12,000 gallons of water to put out the fire, Anderson said.

Co-owner Beverly Wells said crews are cleaning up the debris, but it is a slow process.

"We're doing the best we can. We are a needed recycling company, and we are the only one in northwest Oklahoma," she said.

Since the items weren't removed before the Nov. 30 deadline, the company is in violation of the consent order, Dean said.

Because of the fire, the Wells also received a warning letter from the department, Dean said.

Kropf wrote in his warning letter that "there was an inadequate effort to extinguish the fire."

The letter also states that open burning is in violation of department regulations and that even if the fire was ignited accidentally, it must be extinguished as soon as possible. The Daily Oklahoman