21 scrap tire generators refuse tire removal order; sued by Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is suing 21 waste tire generators for refusing to remove thousands of scrap tires from the state´s largest tire pile in Greenwood Township, Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has already reached agreements with 10 waste tire generators to remove 130,000 tires from the Starr tire pile, which contains an estimated 6 million scrap tires. Twenty-one generators have refused to cooperate, DEP Secretary Kathleen McGinty said.

The state signed an agreement with the Starr family in March 2004 that gave the DEP unrestricted access to the site, which contains an estimated 6 million scrap tires, and required the family to pay a $400,000 civil penalty.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly has earmarked $2 million for work at the site, which includes forcing responsible generators remove waste tires.