Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 205

FORMERLY

SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO. 1

FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 144

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 7 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT OF SCRAP TIRE PILES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE :

WHEREAS at least two million scrap tires are currently piled in outdoor areas throughout the state; and

WHEREAS outdoor tire piles pose a risk to human health by providing breeding grounds for mosquitoes in rain water collected in scrap tires; and

WHEREAS tire piles pose a risk to the environment by constituting a potential fire hazard, and upon burning may release contaminants causing air pollution and may release liquid and solid pollutants causing water pollution and soil pollution; and

WHEREAS the Delaware State Fire Marshal promulgated regulations on July 1, 1997, requiring all scrap tire piles coming into existence after that date to be permitted and specifying the manner in which the tires are to be managed; and

WHEREAS the Delaware State Fire Prevention Regulations do not address the management of scrap tire piles coming into existence on or before July 1, 1997.

NOW THEREFORE:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE: (Two-thirds of all members elected to each house thereof concurring therein):

Amend Subchapter II, Chapter 60, Title 7, Delaware Code by adding thereto a new Section 6040 to read as follows:

Ҥ6040 Requirement for scrap tire piles; enforcement

(a) The following definitions shall apply to this section:

(1) ‘Aisle’ means an easily accessible, unobstructed space between Scrap Tire Piles, to allow housekeeping operations, visual inspection, and fire-fighting operations, and to contain the spread of any fire.

(2) ‘Tire’ means a covering fitting around the rim of a vehicular wheel to absorb shocks, usually of reinforced rubber or a rubberized compound, and pressurized with air or by a pneumatic inner tube, and typically weighing approximately 25 pounds. Included in this meaning is any substantial portion of such covering, and any weight tires including truck tires.

(3) ‘Scrap tire’ means: 1) a tire that is no longer prudent or practical for vehicular use; or 2) a tire that has not been used on a vehicle for more than six months after the last date it was used on a vehicle.

(4) ‘Scrap tire pile’ means an accumulation of 100 or more scrap tires, whether or not they are lying one upon another, that: 1) has been accumulated or located in the same general vicinity, or accumulated or located on a parcel of real property; 2) is not enclosed by a building; and 3) was in existence on or before July 1, 1997.

(5) ‘Yard’ means the general area encompassing a scrap tire pile.

(6) ‘Owner’ means any person or entity who has or had legal or equitable ownership interest in a scrap tire pile, or in any real property on which a scrap tire pile is located, at any time after July 1, 1997.

(7) ‘Operator’ means any person or entity who has or had a contractual or other responsibility for security, maintenance, sales or operations of a scrap tire pile, or of any real property on which a scrap tire pile is located, at any time after July 1, 1997; provided that this definition does not include a person or entity whose only ownership interest is as a mortgagee.

(b) By September 30, 2002, all scrap tire piles shall be in compliance with the following provisions:

(1) The scrap tires shall be stacked in orderly and stable stacks and rows on solid, level ground.

(2) The yard shall be completely surrounded by a secure fence at least 6 feet in height. The fence shall be designed and constructed so as to reasonably exclude all unauthorized persons and animals, and to prevent the possibility of arson.

(3) The distance between the fence and the outer edge of the closest scrap tire shall be at least 25 feet.

(4) The yard shall be maintained free of weeds, debris, and any combustible materials other than the scrap tires.

(5) The height of the rows shall not exceed 14 feet.

(6) The width and length of the rows shall not exceed 25 feet by 100 feet.

(7) Rows shall be separated by aisles that are at least 24 feet wide.

(8) The minimum distance between the fence and any residence or any other structure designed for full-time human occupancy shall be 200 feet. The minimum distance between the fence and any other building or structure shall be 25 feet.

(9) Scrap tires shall be either securely covered with waterproof covers, or treated with a pesticide or larvicide, at least twice in any calendar year, at times and in a manner designed to prevent breeding of mosquitoes.

(c) Owners and operators of scrap tire piles shall be responsible and liable for compliance with all the requirements of this section beginning on September 30, 2002. An approval for recycling solid wastes into specific market applications or a solid waste resource recovery permit shall be deemed compliant with the provisions of this subchapter. Owners and operators of any scrap tire pile in violation of this section shall be subject to daily penalties in accordance with the applicable provisions of Chapter 60 of this Title, including §6005. This section shall not be construed to limit or preclude any action against or involving any scrap tire piles as a public nuisance or as illegal disposal of solid waste. This section shall not be construed to supersede or affect the permitting and other requirements for any solid waste facility or for solid waste handling and disposal.”

Approved July 20,1999