March 29, 2000
Damschroder says cleanup too slow
By Carol Bogart
Staff Writer
State Rep. Rex Damschroder said he's still waiting for a response from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's director regarding state funds for cleanup in the wake of the Kirby Tire Recycling fire.
The Aug. 21 arson fire melted 6 million tires into oil that contaminated ground and surface water.
Damschroder soon after accused Ohio EPA of "being asleep at the switch" for letting so many tires build up in the first place.
Damschroder &emdash; who for years has flown over the Kirby site piloting his plane between Fremont and the state capital &emdash; met with EPA director Chris Jones soon after the fire and told him, "We (the legislature) are the amateurs. We depend on you to tell us what you need" in terms of environmental laws and money for cleanups.
Damschroder said he discussed with Jones a proposal to raise the fee placed on the disposal of waste tires "by 50 cents for the sole purpose of using the extra revenue to clean the Kirby site."
State EPA scrap tire chief Robert Large predicted it would take 15 years to remove remaining tires from the site. The legislator said he told Jones that was "too long."
Damschroder said he wanted to "work with Ohio EPA to find a solution." Jones, he hoped, would draft sample legislation Damschroder could use as a blueprint to take to the legislature for a vote.
Today, Damschroder is wondering why he still hasn't heard anything from Jones.
In a letter to Jones dated Feb. 23, Damschroder wrote, "A more immediate solution was, and still is, necessary due to the present danger of another fire and consequent pollution occurring at the site. Last autumn ... I had indicated an interest in sponsoring legislation the Ohio EPA would require to carry out a more immediate and suitable policy.
"However, I have not received any proposals from your department as to how the Kirby situation could be resolved under a more appropriate period of time," Damschroder wrote. "If the Ohio EPA is committed to a 15-year policy, then I will use my own resources to create legislation that will address the Kirby Landfill with the necessary immediacy demanded by the potential endangerment the site creates to the public's health and safety."