March 15, 2004

State grants totaling $102,307 will help clean up approximately 97,257 scrap tires from sites across the state, Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester announced today. The DEQ selected 18 applicants to receive grant awards with funding made available under the authority of Part 169, Scrap Tires, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended. An additional 17 grants, each exceeding $25,000, have been submitted to the State Administrative Board for approval. These additional grants total $2,397,693 and will be announced after March 30, 2004, if approved by the State Administrative Board.

Property owners with abandoned scrap tires or scrap tires at collection sites were eligible to apply for scrap tire grants. Of the 35 sites selected for funding, 26 of them will be completely cleaned as a result of the funding with the remaining 9 sites utilizing the funds to create critical fire lanes. The grantees will have until August 2004 to complete contract requirements for having their tires removed, processed, and used by an end-user acceptable to the DEQ.

The following is a listing of the approved grantees receiving scrap tire cleanup contracts under the program:

Name/County Amount
Boss Technologies, Inc.                 Macomb County              $4,450

Brown, Lynn A.                              Van Buren County           $3,150

Clock, Wilson Charles                    Allegan County                $2,100

D & W Salvage, Inc.                       Huron County                 $22,575

Department of Natural Resources,
   Forest Management                    Marquette County             $3,150

Department of Natural Resources,
   Forest, Mineral and Fire
   Management Division                   Various Counties             $2,620

Department of Natural Resources,
   Holly Recreation Area                  Oakland County                   $75

Department of Natural Resources,
   Waterloo                                    Jackson County                $1,260

Kassuba, John P.                           Iosco County                    $2,907

Leonard, Julie                                Allegan County                $10,500

Neumann, Robert                           Mecosta County              $18,164

Oakfield Township                          Kent County                      $2,100

Parrish, Rex E.                              Montcalm County              $2,100

Pennfield Charter Township             Calhoun County                 $1,733

Sullivan Township                           Muskegon County              $1,575

Tyrone Township                            Kent County                      $4,725

Uppleger, David J.                          St. Clair County                $17,548

Whitehall Township                        Muskegon County               $1,575

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised March 15, 2004 by Pat Watson