I need to talk with an Attorney that can represent me against ADEM. Anybody on Aldeer in that line of work? PM me contact info and I will call you.

Good luck they a pain..

Actually it's very easy to deal with ADEM.
All you need is money. You can polute anything, anywhere, just as long as you buy the permits.

Problem is I bought 200 acres in Lamar county. After owning it 3 yrs, I found a place on the blacktop where someone was dumping tires years ago. After talking to others about simular situations, I contacted them to report the dump site. They now say it is my responsibility to clean it up, and I must submit a clean up plan to them. From what I understood if you didn't dump it, which clearly I didn't, they would send an abatement crew to clean it up. That's the last time I report anything to anybody. Lesson learned.

Now I need a lawyer to represent me against them.

Son, you should have come here for advice before calling ADEM.
THAT is the lesson learned! Never answer any questions, you aren't asked, and never tell a government agency anything!

NEVER voluntarily report anything to ADEM. It's like poking a hornets nest.

You don’t have to clean it up,





but you will have to pay the fine or lawyer.

I dealt with ADEM for a living for a long time, you don’t need an attorney you just need to submit a cleanup plan for an illegal dump that you didn’t create. Doesn’t have to be fancy, just explain that you’re the victim of the illegal activity of others and that you plan to seek assistance from county and state resources to have the site cleaned up using the state mandated scrap tire fees collected on every new tire sold in the state and then what you plan to do to limit the possibility of it happening again. Then petition ADEM and County commission for assistance in cleanup

I do environmental work every day as a professional engineer. The lesson for anyone reading this is if you are purchasing ANYTHING more than a residence or a lot in a subdivision, get a Phase I/Phase II ESA (Environmental Site Assessment). For a little less than a couple thousand dollars, you can have someone research and inspect the site and do subsurface investigation if warranted (Phase II). And you can go back against the firm doing the ESAs if they miss something. I am not a lawyer, but I would opine that once you bought the land, you bought the problem, and the clean-up. Hope you can find another solution.

Yes


Probably not, ADEM loves to swing a big stick then negotiate to nothing unless they are dealing with huge out of state corporations

I concur. Problem is, ADEM and counties will say they don't have the funds, and the Feds won't step in unless it is a major site (Superfund type) and we don't know how many tires, do you have an idea? are there 12 or 35 or 3000?

Boy it would be a shame if the tires somehow caught fire. Obviously through ZERO efforts of you though, because you were in a public place with LOTS of witnesses that could vouch for you. . (Before anyone jumps on me for suggesting polluting, I’m just kidding)

It’s called Jewish lightning out here in the farm community

There are companies around here that come by and pick them up for $1.25 each. I’ve heard some as cheap as $1. I don’t know if they would dig them out of the woods for that but it’s worth a phone call. Call tire shop and ask who they use. Will be cheaper than attorney.

Exactly!

ALWAYS consult Alldeer first!

You have opened pandoras box. How may tires are we talking about?

I did. That's where I got the advice to report it as an illegal dump site, which was an honest assessment from a brother that had his cleaned up by them. They just picked on me I guess.

I’m an attorney and I practice in Lamar County.

Probably 150 or so. When I talked to them on the phone to start with, they said if it was over 100 tires and I didn't have prior knowledge of them being dumped there, that they would send an abatement crew to clean them up. Boy I took that hook, line, and sinker.