A decade later, Delaware's scrap tire law finally enforced ... sort of

The wheels of justice may turn slowly.

But maybe not as slowly as Delaware's regulation of actual tires.

DNREC this year began requiring businesses to get a permit if they accumulate 100 or more flat, blown or tread-worn tires at any one time – more than a decade after the General Assembly ordered it to develop those rules.

"I'm definitely surprised it took them this long," said state Sen. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View. "We get complaints from constituents all the time about tire dealers with these huge piles. It shouldn't take someone to complain for DNREC to do its job."

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Delaware lawmakers have been struggling for decades to get a handle on the scrap tire issue. 

Officials estimate the state produces more than 750,000 scrap tires every year. Most end up being recycled or incinerated but many end up in illegal scrap tire piles scattered throughout the state, each a potential fire hazard and haven for disease-carrying mosquitos.

Back in 2006, the Legislature passed a bill that offered a two-pronged solution.

The first created a $2 surcharge on every tire sold in the state used to fund the Scrap Tire Removal Program, a pot of money to help private landowners clean up large piles of scrap tires. To date, that fund has helped remove 25,000 tons of tires from 160 sites around Delaware, mostly in Sussex County.

The legislation also instructed DNREC to develop regulations for businesses that deal in scrap tires, an effort to keep tires from the state's backwoods and empty lots.

Eleven years, two governors and three DNREC secretaries later, the state is only just now moving forward with that part of the legislation, delays agency officials have attributed to a lack of additional funding and staffing called for in the bill.

“Yes, it has taken too long, but DNREC now has a scrap tire program in place for both cleanup and control – with funding needed to move the program forward," said Marjorie Crofts, director of DNREC's division of waste and hazardous substances.

Auto dealerships, tire repair shops, junkyards and other so-called "scrap tire generators" that meet the 100-tire threshold are now required to pay an annual permit fee between $50 and $350, depending on the size of their tire pile and how they are stored.

Those businesses are required to submit detailed information to DNREC about their scrap tire facilities, the steps they are taking to prevent fires and control mosquitos and evidence that the tires are being removed and transported to an authorized storage, disposal or recycling facility.

There are two problems, though. The state still has little to no idea which companies actually have such stockpiles. And the vast majority of businesses that deal with scrap tires don't seem to be aware the new rules exist.

"I don't know anything about it," said Paul Campanella, who owns two auto repair shops in New Castle County. "I just talked to my people and we don't recall hearing anything about this."

DNREC officials say they have sent at least four letters to 1,600 businesses that potentially could fall under the new regulations that took effect in March.

But so far, fewer than 100 have responded. A quarter of those businesses – which include five Walmarts – have applied for a permit. The rest say they don't qualify.

Karen J'Anthony, who heads DNREC's Scrap Tire Management Program, said she is sending her one full-time and one-part time inspectors into the field to determine who is truly exempt and who might be violating the law.

"They will be notifying each business of the new regulations, providing them with permit applications and informing them of the deadline," she said. "Then we'll use escalating enforcement, starting with a notice of violation and then possibly, eventually fines."

Campanella said the scrap tires his business generates are routinely taken off site and disposed of by a contractor. He understands the state's desire to monitor potentially hazardous products, but expressed frustration over potentially having to deal with more regulation.

"It feels like just another permit to collect even more money on top of the $2 fee they already get from us," he said. "This is the kind of thing that's making it difficult to do business in Delaware."

Frank Furr, who recently sold Furr's Tire Service in Dover to his son, said he's also frustrated, but for a different reason. Furr is one of the few business owners to comply with the new rules, having paid a $50 notification fee to store tires in enclosed trailers.

"I attended a public hearing about the new regulations and made sure to follow the law," he said. "It's not really fair to me that I followed the rules and there are 1,500 guys out there getting by. We should all be on the same level."

State Sen. Harris McDowell, D-Wilmington, said he's "disappointed" it took DNREC so long to create the permitting system, but added that it was important for the agency to get it right.

"I think they've done a fairly thorough job writing these regulations, especially considering there's not a really good answer for how to get rid of these things," he said. "Just because you throw them away, doesn't mean they actually go away."

Hocker agreed that scrap tires are a difficult issue to address. He said that's why DNREC should have raised any problems it had with the 2006 legislation long before a full decade had passed.

"They should have come to the committees in both houses and tried to work out legislation that does the job in a way they can handle," he said. "To my knowledge, that never happened."

Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.