Colorado Springs, Dec. 18, 2008 – The El Paso County Board of Commissioners today approved the transfer of a Certificate of Designation for the Midway Tire Landfill. Approval of the transfer to Colorado Energy Recyclers, LLC, is a major milestone in an ongoing effort to mitigate environmental hazards and reduce fire dangers at the site which is located between Colorado Springs and Pueblo. A company representative of Colorado Energy Recyclers told the Board their plan is to burn the old tires as fuel in a special kiln at their cement plant south of Pueblo, subject to approval by Pueblo County.
The 58 acre landfill site in Midway was approved for disposal of used tires in 1990. The exact number of old tires stacked up and buried on the property isn’t known but experts estimate it could be more than 30 million. The landfill’s owners went into bankruptcy, the gate has been locked for months and there is now a growing problem of illegal dumping of old tires in the County.
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office attempted to secure adequate financial assurance for closure of the facility but was unsuccessful, raising concerns that state and local agencies would have to clean up the site if a financially responsible operator could not be found. Charles Johnson of the Colorado Department of Health and Environment urged the Commissioners to approve the transfer. “It’s estimated that four to five million tires are disposed of each year in Colorado and we support the opportunity to turn them into a resource in an environmentally responsible way,” he said.
El Paso County Fire Marshall Jim Reid said Colorado Energy Recyclers has promised to work closely with the County and the Hanover Fire Protection District to reduce the risk of a tire fire that could have catastrophic environmental impacts. Reid explained that each discarded tire contains the equivalent of approximately four quarts of oil and underground fires are always difficult to extinguish.
El Paso County Land Development Code Administrator Mark Gebhart noted that his department has worked with representatives of the new owners, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment, the Fire Marshall and the Hanover Fire Protection District before recommending approval of the transfer. Gebhart expressed confidence that the company will be able bring the site into compliance. Chairman Dennis Hisey voiced his desire to see the landfill cleaned up and the tires used to create new cement products in an environmental “win-win.”
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Fountain Middle School science teacher Christan Cole has recently been selected as an Agilent Foundation-NSTA Fellow. The National Science Teacher Academy chose Cole from hundreds of applicants nationwide to participate in the NSTA’s professional development fellowship program. 
This newspaper’s Advertising Manager/Circulation Supervisor Geoffrey Blair Clark, who has worn a variety of work “hats” over the past two decades, celebrated his 20th anniversary with the newspaper December 27. Clark also serves as Assistant Editor.
