STEARNS —
Two months after the catastrophic fire that destroyed King Tire Recycling and forced the brief evacuation of adjacent Stearns businesses and residents, the state has taken over the site to ensure public safety.
According to Anthony Hatton, Director of the Kentucky Division of Waste Management, the owners of King Tire Recycling and the property owners have each informed the agency that they are not financially able to clean the site up.
“In these situations, we don’t wait to see if those issues can be resolved,” Hatton said. “We’re taking action to secure the site now.”
The property will be remediated through the state’s Superfund program, which addresses abandoned hazardous waste sites. While many people associate Superfund with federal oversight of toxic waste dumps, Hatton noted that there is no immediate environmental or public health risk.
“It’s subject to the state Superfund as a site of potential release,” Hatton said. “With whole tires and tires that have burned onsite, it falls under both solid waste and hazardous material.”
The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection has contracted with Liberty Tire Recycling to haul away what didn’t burn. A crew began work on Wednesday, October 17, and the effort will ramp up as the company completes work at another site. Hatton estimates there were 15-50,000 whole tires on site, which are being hauled to Louisville. The estimated 5-6 tons of shredded tires will likely be taken to a landfill. Hatton said this portion of the cleanup would probably take a couple of months.
The agency and contractor are still working toward a long-term plan to deal with the burned tires which were buried to contain the fire.
“That issue is more complicated,” Hatton said, adding that the cleanup could take about a year.
The agency will also be working over the coming months to resolve the liability issue with King Tire Recycling and the property owners. Future use of the site is also a consideration, as the agency determines whether the site is permanent capped or can be rehabilitated.
“Our ultimate goal is public safety,” Hatton said.
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Last Wednesday (Oct. 17) a crew began hauling tires away from King Tire Recycling. The Stearns facility, which shredded tires, was leveled by fire on August 15. With the owners reportedly unable to cover the cleanup costs, state officials are working on a Superfund declaration. The Superfund program was established by the federal Environmental Protection Agency to address hazardous waste sites. Janie Slaven
WEB SPECIAL: The Cleanup Begins…
State takes over King Tire Recycling
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