Cumberland Tire fire exposes another deficit at DEP
This morning the Star Ledger reports breaking news that:
“Firefighters are still battling a large blaze at the Griner tire facility in Cumberland County, which officials say was first reported late Saturday night.”
Tire pile fires poison air and water quality, and pose serious public health and safety threats.
This fire was totally preventable. It sheds light on another longstanding deficit and lax oversight by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Regulation of tire piles is not a local issue. According to DEP’s own records, there are at least 18 ” major” illegal tire piles in New Jersey, mostly in South Jersey.
This list includes the tire pile now on fire in Cumberland County (see Table E-3
http://www.nj.gov/dep/dshw/recycling/swmp/doc/section_e_06.doc
For many years, DEP has known about and largely ignored serious threats to the environment and public health caused by illegal tire piles. According to DEP’s own documents:
“Scrap tire stockpiles are not only an eyesore, but also pose a serious environmental and public health threat. In particular, scrap tire stockpiles represent a significant fire safety threat. Once ignited, either through natural causes or more typically by arsonists, scrap tire fires are difficult to extinguish. The black clouds of acrid smoke from a scrap tire fire can be seen for miles around and the fires often burn for days or weeks. Oftentimes, nearby residents must be evacuated from their homes when such fires are ignited. In addition to the air pollution and respiratory concerns raised by scrap tire fires, the oily runoff from the burning tires also contaminates the soil and sometimes even the groundwater located beneath the site. In addition to the environmental hazards associated with scrap tire stockpile fires, they also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight and extinguish. Furthermore, the additional cost of cleaning a tire fire site to mitigate any hazardous waste liability can escalate to millions of dollars.”
[…]
“The Department’s Solid Waste Enforcement Office estimates that the fourteen remaining major scrap tire stockpiles in New Jersey contain approximately 1.3 to 2.1 million scrap tires. All but one of these sites is located in the southern half of the state. The owners of scrap tire stockpile sites are often unable to pay cleanup costs and fines, are deceased or have disappeared. Compounding this problem is the fact that New Jersey had no dedicated source of funding for scrap tire management and stockpile remediation until the signing of P.L. 2004, c.46 on June 29, 2004 and therefore was unable to fund cleanups of these sites. As a result, most of these stockpiles remain intact and in need of attention. It is estimated that the tire fee established by P.L. 2004, c.46 will generate an estimated $12.3 million in annual revenue, of which $2.3 million would be allocated for scrap tire pile cleanup. The fee became effective on August 1, 2004.”
See below link for text of the law enacted in 2004 to collect a tire tax to fund a cleanup program in DEP – note that the law did not “limit the use of other remedies available to the department.”
DEP has ignored these other remedies to cleanup sites for many years.
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2004/Bills/PL04/46_.HTM
Tire pile cleanup is not the only unfunded concern. Legislators and Governors have known about funding shortfalls and lack of tire pile enforcement or cleanup.
Most recently, Senator Sweeney specifically questioned DEP Commissioner Jackson and raised objections to diversion of millions of dollars supposed to go to tire cleanup last spring during this FY’s DEP budget oversight. Governor Corzine’s DEP budget left major unfunded environmental deficits – please see this Report –
NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL BUDGET SHRINKS BUT TASKS GROW — New Corzine Initiatives Will Worsen Already Large State Environmental Deficits
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=836
Why hasn’t DEP taken enforcement action and initiated cleanup at these sites?
Where did the $2.3 million appropriated to cleanup these tire piles go?
Citizens, journalists, legislators and the Governor need to ask DEP some tough questions.
After the tire pile fiasco is exposed, maybe the investigations can expand to the ignored environmental and public health threats posed by DEP’s lax oversight of junkyards.
Another question is raised by the DEP summary:
“P.L. 2004, c.46 will generate an estimated $12.3 million in annual revenue, of which $2.3 million would be allocated for scrap tire pile cleanup. ”
Where did the $10 million collected but not allocated to cleanup go?
Mr. Wolfe, the DEP has no regulations regarding junkyards. Thus, enforcement is left up almost exclusively, if not exclusively, to locals. Fair? Probably not. A simple issue to address? Not really.
As for the tire tax monies, as I typed before, the Governor is the one who has diverted the monies from the DEP. The DEP, thus, has not handed out any monies last or this year for tire pile cleanups. If they had the money, they’d disburse the money. Much like in ’04 and ’05. The Governor is going to have to answer this one himself.
nohesitation, in 2004 and 2005, those monies were going to the NJDOT for the costs of snow removal on State highways.
Dear inamirror:
1. Junkyards –
You should read the Ocean County Grand Jury Presentment on the issue of junkyards, pollution, and lack of DEP oversight. It is a virtual indictment of DEP failures.
DEP has legal responsibilities to regulate water pollution and enforce State water quality standards (surface and groundwater) – junkyards are dishcarging pollutants that violate water quality.
DEP also regualtes solid waste – junkyards are often illegal solid waste facilities.
Both soild waste adn cleamn water ar state – not local responsibilities adn are boith pre-empted by state law.
2. Where did the money go?
I don’t know – that’s why I urged press adn citizens to ask tyough qquestions. If it went to snow removal at DOT, then whoever made that deecsion should talk to the folks in Cumberland County adn all the pother communities with illegal tire pile threats that are ignored.
3. Enforcement is free
Where is the enforcement? Where are the lawsuits? Wher are the liens? How much Spill Act money jhas been spent cleaning up these sites?
This does not take state money to do.
On the issue of the role of Governor Corzine and DEP budget and environmental deficits, please see this Report – I heard absolutely ZERO public opposition to the Corzine DEP budget last year from Commissioner Jackson, DEP staff leaks, or envrionmental advocates:
NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL BUDGET SHRINKS BUT TASKS GROW — New Corzine Initiatives Will Worsen Already Large State Environmental Deficits
http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=836