STAFF AND AP REPORTS

ATWOOD - Apparent collapse of a state-supported private sector bid to clean up the Atwood tire pile will likely lead to a state emergency cleanup.

As a result, motorists may soon see tax dollars being spent to clean up the huge piles of tires received over the years by G&M Recycling's tire dump.

State officials announced this week they are planning an emergency cleanup of more than 3 million old tires in the pit and other holding locations owned by Garry Baker.

Bruce Palin of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management said the state will now bear the costs of cleanup, with the money coming from a special fund that pools environmental fines.

The first priority would be the in-town collection site, which contains about 200,000 tires. Those tires represent a greater health risk because of the proximity to a school and homes.

Atwood Recyclers - a company formed to recycle G&M's tires - last December received a low-interest $420,628 loan from the state's Recycling Energy Development Board to recycle the state's largest pile of accumulated tires into various rubber products. Investors agreed to put up $653,628.

The loan money was to have come from the state's waste tire fund, which includes taxes paid on all new tires purchased by consumers in Indiana.

The deal hit a snag in March and collapsed this summer.

Cheryl DeVol, director of the state Commerce Department's Energy Policy Division said no state money had yet been released.

"The (state) money never went out the door. We were still negotiating a contract," DeVol said. "It had not gone through the process when the whole deal started to unravel."

The agreement between Baker and investors with Atwood Recyclers fell apart apparently from internal strife.

Baker said he's unsure what will happen next, but said he was told the state is seeking a contractor to do the cleanup and hopes to have one lined up by early September.

Baker is back in limbo, unsure what will happen and how he will pay his own expenses. As a result of the shutdown, the state ordered him to no longer accept tires, even though he can continue to move tires out to approved receivers.

"Pretty frustrating," Baker said today while sitting on the dock of his warehouse in Atwood.

State officials have fought with Baker for eight years to reduce the tire stockpile because of environmental and health hazards. They say Baker has illegally accumulated 3.5 million tires at three locations.

Baker in March 1995 agreed to strict deadlines to reduce the number of tires, and the state agreed in turn to forgive a $2.8 million penalty assessed against Baker. The agreement later was amended, opening the way for Baker and his investor group to apply for a state loan.

Rep. David Wolkins, R-Winona Lake, initially had been critical of the environmental agency's handling of the case, arguing that it would do no good to force the owner into bankruptcy and have the state pay for a cleanup.

He's changed his mind.

"At this point, Garry has had his shot. He's had his crack at it," said Wolkins. [[In-content Ad]]