Illinois EPA Completes Forced Removal Action at S.T.A.R. Used Tire Disposal

ROCKFORD - Illinois EPA Director Alec Messina announced the completion of a forced waste tire removal action in southwest Rockford. The S.T.A.R. Used Tire Disposal site, a former commercial used tire processing facility, is located at 217 Peoples Avenue in Rockford. The Illinois EPA's removal action represents the most expensive used/waste tire removal action in Illinois history, with the removal of 4,661.58 tons of waste tires at the cost of more than $1.8 million. Illinois EPA has authority under the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to carry out forced removals. The forced removal action began on June 11, 2018 and was completed on August 3, 2018.

"Stockpiles of used tires, like the millions of pounds that were at the S.T.A.R. site, present a true environmental threat and public health hazard due to the risk of fire and as a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other pests," said Director Messina. "Though forced removals are rare, Illinois EPA is committed to these types of actions to ensure a safer, healthier environment for Illinois residents."

The site's former operator and property owners have been the subject of multiple enforcement actions initiated by Illinois EPA. The facility operated in violation of the Environmental Protection Act and Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations for more than a decade. Legal actions to force the owners and operator to remove the used tires from the property were unsuccessful, leading to an administrative removal Notice issued by Illinois EPA's Director Messina in accordance with Section 55.3(d) of the Environmental Protection Act. With forced removal actions, if the responsible party does not take preventative/corrective actions outlined in the Notice the Illinois EPA conducts a removal action and seeks to recover costs associated with the cleanup.

S.T.A.R. Used Tire Disposal did not respond to the Notice issued by Illinois EPA, but the property owners did voluntarily sign a Consent for Access to Real Property, so the forced removal action could be completed. Completion of this removal action is an important achievement for the Illinois Used Tire Program as this site was the largest significant waste tire stockpile remaining in Illinois.

Fire and the presence of disease-carrying mosquitoes are the primary environmental and public health threats posed by improperly-managed used tires. The Illinois EPA worked closely with the Rockford Fire Department to address fire prevention measures by the responsible parties and to keep them informed of the developments at the site. The used tires that were present on the property were primarily in baled form, which facilitated the creation of fire lanes and resulted in a reduction of the public health threat by significantly reducing the ability of the used tires to accumulate water and provide a breeding habitat for disease carrying mosquitoes. The mosquito species primarily responsible for transmission of both the West Nile virus and Zika virus, among other mosquito-related diseases, are commonly found in artificial containers such as used tires that are not properly managed to prevent the accumulation of water.

The property also contains whole tires stored inside a building and several semi-trailers, as well as truck tire treads and used tire shreds. All used tire material was removed from the property. The removal action was completed by Illinois EPA used tire removal contractor CDO Trucking of Peoria.

Please see the attached release for photographs.

Note:  The attached aerial photograph, provides a view of the S.T.A.R. site prior to the beginning of the removal action. All waste tires in the photograph have been removed from the site. Tires are visible in pods A-J. In addition, there were thousands of waste tires in "Building B," though none were found in Building A. Eight semi-trailers in the image were also full of waste tires. Additional before and after images are also included.