SACRAMENTO, Calif. (July 23, 2003)—The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) has denied the retread industry's request for a reprieve for California retreaders affected by the board's new waste tire manifest rule.
Harvey Brodsky, managing director of the Tire Retread Information Bureau (TRIB), and other industry representatives met with officials from the board to ask for the exemption. The rule requires strict documentation of the transport of 10 or more waste or used tires. If haulers don't possess copies of manifests and trip logs, they can face fines of up to $25,000 a day per violation, TRIB said. The rule is aimed at curbing illegal tire storage and disposal, but Mr. Brodsky said retreaders don't contribute to that problem and shouldn't be included.
“We don't cause waste tires to be left on the highway,” he told Tire Business.
Since the state board turned down that request, TRIB is working with attorneys—financed by an unnamed California retreader—to try to get the law changed. Mr. Brodsky said the attorneys have found some points they say can be argued to the board to have them change the law without pursuing a case through the courts.
“They're going to try to do this without going to court,” he said, though he added if that avenue also fails, a resolution through the courts on an example case would be the next step.
For now, Mr. Brodsky suggests California retreaders follow the dictates of the law, which went into effect July 1. He said staff members at the board gave him informal assurance that enforcement would not be strict in the beginning, but he said retreaders may be better off following the law, considering the hefty fines.
“That can put a guy out of business overnight,” he said.