RD156 - Annual Report on the Waste Tire Pile Cleanups in Virginia - 2004


Executive Summary:
Introduction

Chapter 101 of the 2003 Acts of the Assembly included a provision that increased the Virginia tire recycling fee from $0.50 to $1.00 for a 3-year period, with all additional revenue dedicated for the removal and recycling of tires from waste tire piles. It also required the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to submit a report by December 1 of each year to the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and the Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources on the use of these funds and the progress in cleaning up tire piles. This report is submitted to fulfill this requirement for 2004.

Large Pile Cleanups

In 2004, DEQ undertook its most challenging tire pile cleanup to date: the Lee Farm pile in Caroline County. With 365,000 tires wedged in a deep, steep, and long ravine, a $388,000 contract was needed to excavate the tires from the ravine. Processing and beneficially using these tires will increase the total cleanup cost of this pile to at least $850,000. Also, the cleanup of 800,000 tires stored at the defunct Tire Recyclers, Inc. facility in Charles City County will cost around $440,000. No other large piles are known to exist in Virginia at this time.

Small Pile Cleanups

During the past two years, 46 smaller piles, containing almost 400,000 tires, have been remediated. In order to complete the cleanup of the remaining 342 known small piles, DEQ has initiated an entirely new strategy: "Clean Sweep." In November 2004, DEQ began the process to hire contractors to "sweep" clean five designated regions of the Commonwealth of all remaining tire piles. All contracts should be awarded by March 2005 and work is expected to be completed within 12 months.

Financial Management

Through September 2004, the Waste Tire Trust Fund has accumulated $2,554,485 dedicated to tire pile cleanups. DEQ has expended $2,472,751, leaving a balance of $81,734. The three-year funding increase is expected to provide sufficient funds to complete all remaining cleanups as planned.