ATTALLA, Ala. (AP) — It was a landmark that nobody wanted: A massive dump filled with millions of old tires that attracted mosquitoes and posed a fire threat. A state-run cleanup is finally complete after three years, much to the relief of area residents.
"It's approaching a decade that we've been dealing with this," said Fire Chief Robert Dillard. "We've been watching the cleanup and watching the reduction of tires and the fireload. Seeing it finally completed is something we're happy with."
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management will hold a news conference Thursday to discuss the end of the cleanup, which began in August 2006.
The cleanup centered on the former Four Star Scrap Tire Wholesale Brokerage in Attalla, which is in Etowah County in northeast Alabama. The company's owner abandoned the site in 2000 and filed for bankruptcy in 2002.
The state, which sued the dump operator over alleged health violations, took charge of the cleanup. More than 82 million pounds of scrap tire materials — the equivalent of more than 4 million passenger tires — were removed. The contractor was able "to achieve beneficial reuse of more than 80 percent of the scrap tire material," according to a state news release.
Rep. Craig Ford, D-Gadsden, said the area now could become prime industrial property in Attalla.
"We're real excited about this," he said. "The safety of the schools was one of the primary concerns."
The tire dump prompted legislation that created the Scrap Tire Environmental Quality Act, which levied a $1 disposal fee for every tire sold in the state. The Attalla site was the first to be cleaned up under the law.
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