Waste tire recycler loses permit, fined

A Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, waste tire recycling firm that was found to have violated its permit after operating for only two months had its permit revoked through an order from the Department of Environmental Protection. The action also requires the company to forfeit a $25,000 bond it held for the New Castle facility.

Lion Enterprises 7/11 Inc. began processing waste tires for beneficial use in the summer of 2007 after DEP issued it a permit on February 9 of that year. On August 27, DEP began documenting violations at the facility.

A notice of violation on September 6 cited Lion Enterprises for failing to make a daily operation record available that documented the number of waste tires accepted and stored at the facility. The company was also cited for storing more tires on-site than its permit allowed.

Two follow-up inspections in October revealed that the company had failed to reduce the number of tires to comply with its permit.

The following month, DEP inspected Lion’s operation following a complaint and found that approximately 130 tons of waste tires were being stored on adjacent property that was not permitted for storage and were not documented. Lion Enterprises also transported waste tires for a number of months to an unpermitted site in Hickory Township, Lawrence County, without a waste tire hauler authorization.

DEP issued an order on December 4 that required specific steps and deadlines for Lion to address all of the prior violations that had not been cleared.

The company provided documentation to the department on January 29, 2008, that showed the company had met those requirements, but subsequent inspections this year have found additional violations that were similar to the original infractions in August 2007.

The company’s facility also was found to be closed and without electrical service in April. DEP issued another notice of violation to the company on May 12.

Under the revocation order issued, Lion Enterprises will:

• Immediately cease accepting waste tires;
• Return its waste tire-processing permit within seven days of receipt of the order;
• Transfer within 30 days the remaining waste tires and processed tires from the facility to a facility authorized to accept this material for disposal or beneficial reuse;
• Provide to DEP, within 35 days, copies of receipts showing the total number of waste tires and processed waste tires removed to a facility authorized to accept the waste tires, including the transporters and facility’s address.