April 14, 2004

An additional $2,397,693 in state grants was approved by the State Administrative Board to help clean up approximately 1,852,817 scrap tires from sites across the state, Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester announced today. The DEQ announced on March 15, 2004, that 18 applicants were to receive grant awards of under $25,000 each, totaling $102,307, 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. All state grants and contracts over $25,000 are required to be approved by the State Administrative Board. These additional 17 grants will bring the total of the funds granted under the Scrap Tire Cleanup Grant Program this year to $2,500,000.

The Program funds for this year will completely clean up 26 of the 35 tire sites receiving funding and will create critical fire lanes in the remaining 9 scrap tire accumulations. 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 17 additional approved grantees receiving scrap tire cleanup contracts under the Program:

Name/County                                   Amount

Ashbaugh, Bernadine
Van Buren County                             $52,500

Brooks, Nora
St. Clair County                               $178,500

Cherry, Robert
Macomb County                                $62,000

City of Detroit
Wayne County                                  $49,604

Clare County (Wheat Tire Site)
Clare County                                   $210,000

Durda, Patricia A.
Muskegon County                            $105,000

Kotarski, John
Genesee County                                $50,000

Leroy, Harm
Allegan County                                 $105,000

Marquette, William J.
Livingston County                               $57,500

Maxwell, Earl
Berrien County                                  $854,750

McConnell, Arthur M.
Arenac County                                  $183,750

Oakfield Township
Kent County                                     $157,500

Owen Auto Parts
Monroe County                                   $42,000

Richland Township
Montcalm County                                $65,339

Schlubatis, Willard
Branch County                                   $126,000

Scott, Bernie J.
Ogemaw County                                   $26,250

Trolz, Robert
Jackson County                                    $72,000

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

Revised April 14, 2004 by Pat Watson