go into effect?
http://www.epa.gov/garbage/tires/basic.htm
The link above is what I’m talking about. When did this go into effect, when was it officially illegal to dump old tires?
Actually in most states it’s been illegal to dump old tires for decades. Specifically because it’s a vector control issue. Ya know, mosquitoes and other critters that spread disease.
Here in Alabama, it’s been illegal to dump old tires since 1982, when we received authorization and formed the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Tires, like all solid waste, were supposed to be landfilled. But as regulations improved, landfilling became more expensive and tires took up a lot of expensive space. Tires also are hard to landfill. The movement of the huge equipment shakes the tires back up to the surface where they collect water, breed mosquitoes, etc. So this combination caused an endemic problem of tire businesses not wanting pay to have their tires landfilled and landfills not wanting to take tires at all.
The first State scrap tire management program was enacted in Minnesota in 1985. Alabama created our scrap tire program in 2004. A small fee is charged per tire purchased (here it’s $1) that ensures that the tires will be properly recycled or disposed of. This fee is also used to clean up the large illegal tire dumps. Today, only Alaska and Delaware don’t have separate programs for scrap tire management. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/muncpl/tires/laws.htm
Thanks. See, my granny has a farm in Annapolis MD and back when my granddad was still alive, he let his son-in-law dump the tires they took off cars at his car garage on the farm, but this was back in the late 60’s early 70’s.
Anyways, the Real Estate people (obviously) want her to get them cleaned off the farm, but there are at least 30,000 old tires and they’re so old, they are half buried and have trees growing through the piles.
She naturally wants to do this and humorously, like you stated, was quote $1.00 a tire for digging them out and $1.00 for hauling them away. So, we’re looking at 60+ grand. Poor thing doesn’t have any money to do it, either.
Does the state have a cleanup program that you know of? Do they hire out contractors and then maybe slap a lein on the farm or something? It’s a beautiful 118 acre farm, too.
I don’t see this ending well. Is there a tire munching plant nearby? They chop tires into small pieces for landscape mulch and aggregate for roads. I guess you could accidentally have a tire fire, but the fines might be as expensive as legally having them hauled away.
Maryland’s Scrap Tire Program - http://www.mde.state.md.us/Programs/LandPrograms/Solid_Waste/ScrapTire/index.asp
I am a State environmental scientist, but I do not work for your State. So please call your State at (800) 633-6101 and ask for the scrap tire program. They will help you where I can’t.
That being said, if I had a nickel for every grandma who was taken advantage of by her various kin, I wouldn’t still be working as a civil servant. I don’t know how the environmental laws are set up in Maryland, but here in Alabama Grandma would have to go through many hoops to prove that she has so little money that she could not be held financially responsible for the entire clean-up. But she’ll still have to pay something.
Please call your State program and find out what your state will do.
Thanks, guys. It’s odd that they make you get the tires off the ground, then they clean them, chop’em up and put them back on the ground. lol
Given the land prices in the Annapolis area, a 118 acre farm in Annapolis should be is worth some quite serious money, possibly in the millions. Why can’t she simply take out a measly 60K loan to get this done and pay it off at settlement? It would seem to be the simplest solution. If a potential buyer has to get an environment assessment as part of their financing package (quite likely given lender requirements), and those tires are still on site when the assessment is performed meeting MDE (MD Dept of the Environment) environment regs and requiring them to sign off could delay settlement interminably.
If there is any environmental issue it makes sense to take care of it BEFORE putting the property on the market. I have no clue what current tire regs are, but I’ve had more than one deal crash and burn because the owner was too cheap or oblivious to take care of an obvious problem prior to listing the property, and once MDE gets ahold of an issue you’d best be prepared to set a spell…
In many states Grandma would also be responsible for the cost of fire suppression and the cleanup after a fire. And cleaning up after a tire fire is a bitch. All of the encapsulated oils are released into the soil, etc.
Astro’s suggestion is a good one.