Illinois seeks fines against tyre recycling firm
ERJ staff report (RPN)
Thomasboro, Illinois -- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a six-count complaint against a Thomasboro tyre recycling firm for alleged violations of the state's scrap tyre storage rules.
The suit, filed 23 Aug in Champaign County Circuit Court, seeks a court order for Astro Tire Removal Inc. to remove or properly store the tyres. It also seeks a permanent injunction against the company from further violations, as well as fines of $50 000 (Euro 38 800) per violation plus $10 000 for each day the alleged violations continue.
According to the complaint, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency inspected the Thomasboro property of Astro Tire seven times between April 2009 and July 2011. Each time, it said, inspectors found a fluctuating number of tyres on the property, stored in illegal and unsafe ways.
The last inspection was 18 July 2011, according to the suit. At that time, about 117 517 passenger tyre equivalents were on the site.
“Used tyres were being stored within 25 feet of a building and piles of used tyres were not adequately separated from each other,†the document said. “Used tyres were stored within 50 feet of vegetation. Water accumulation and mosquito larva were observed in used tyres in the western whole tyre pile. The site had no financial assurance. Daily records were not being maintained.â€
There are no court dates scheduled as yet in the case, according to a spokesman for Madigan's office. A spokesman for Astro Tire at its Thomasboro office declined comment.
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