CHARLESTON, Ill. (WAND)- The Illinois Attorney General’s office has asked a judge to order the owners of a salvage yard to remove thousands of waste tires from their site and to cease burning tires there.
Illinois EPA investigators reported finding about 15,000 used or waste tires at the site of the former Coles County Auto Salvage Yard near Oakland in February 2017. They also reported finding the burnt remains of about 200 tires. The investigators visited the site after a citizen complaint that the owners had been burning tires there.
In a complaint for relief filed in Coles County Monday, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office argues owners Richard and Monika Purdy violated state regulations on tire disposal, tire disposal record keeping, open burning and air pollution, open dumping and waste disposal operations.
Many of the tires were left uncovered, overgrown with vegetation or gathered in piles less than 40 feet from vegetation, according to the complaint. Many of the tires that were off-rim had accumulated water, according to inspectors.
The full complaint is available in PDF on this page.
