Muncie Tire Fire Cleanup
Former tire recyclers Michael and William Gruppe III each pleaded guilty Tuesday to one misdemeanor count of making a false statement about their disposal of waste tire material.The brothers’ corporation, CR3, represented in court by William, also pleaded guilty to one felony charge of illegally storing waste tires in 55 semi tractor-trailers, each capable of holding up to 1,000 tires, in the 4500 block of Sun Air Drive. Link (Muncie Star Press)
Of course, it was not the illegal dumping of tires on the Gruppe’s farm that attracted IDEM’s attention, nor the fact that 55 trailers were parked, stuffed with tires. No the investigation of the brothers and their company only started once the tires burned. Nevertheless, the prosecution of a company for environmental crimes brought out the state’s regulatory elite:
That’s now deputy attorney general Cynthia Crispin (former school teacher turned prosecutor in Fayette County), the AG himself, Steve Carter, and Tom Easterly, head of IDEM. The rarity of the event was not lost on Carter: “Environmental crimes are not frequently prosecuted in Indiana, Carter said”
Now that the 2 year investigation and prosecution is done, we can finally get to the cleaning up of the tires:
In an interview, defense lawyer Linda Pence said: “This is a very complicated matter. We’re trying to resolve civil and criminal and a whole host of things so we can get on with the cleanup, which should’ve been done a few years ago. I think everyone will be pleased if the matter is resolved. We hope the judge accepts the plea agreement.”
Before the plea agreement, the Gruppes were facing six felony charges each of creating a fire hazard, open dumping, and storing waste tires without a permit.
