EPA treads on tire facility

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is cracking down on a tire-recycling facility in Mecca, Calif., after the EPA and the Native American tribe that owns the land discovered imminent fire risk at the facility, according to an EPA press release.

Consolidated Tire Recyclers Inc.—located on the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Reservation in Riverside County—was issued a notice of violation and an order to comply in late May after the EPA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the tribe visited the facility earlier this year and found an estimated 90,000 tires to be a fire risk. Coincidentally, a fire broke out at the facility just days before the order was issued, but no one was hurt.

The facility will be required to stop taking new tires and to remove flammable materials from tire-pile areas, among other requirements. Tire fires produce thick smoke that contains pollutants that harm humans and can contaminate nearby water supplies.