Despite orders by town, state, court, tire dump remains
COXSACKIE — A trio of what one official calls “super-scofflaws” are continuing to operate an unlicensed dump in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains despite the town, the state and the court system ordering them to stop.
As of Friday, the three will be in contempt of court for violating an order demanding the tires be cleared.
The dump is located on adjacent properties in the hamlet of Climax owned by Corey Mergendahl and Sharon L. Lampman, according to property tax records — two-thirds of the trio — while the company, named “Green Tire Recycling,” is registered with the third, Shane Foster, at one of the properties, according to state Department of State records.
On Thursday, Coxsackie Supervisor Richard Hanse, who referred to the three as “super-scofflaws,” said there was zero evidence they had begun the process of removing the thousands of tires, and, in fact, tires were being dumped there “on an ongoing basis.”
Hanse said he assumed the three would not follow the court order, “based on their history.”
The trio has been dumping tires at the property since at least September 2020 in violation of Coxsackie’s zoning code, according to court documents. The town served the company — which was registered as a limited liability
corporation several months after the first tires appeared — with notices of violation and a demand to remedy the violation in May 2022.
Earlier, in February 2021, the state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a violation to the company for operating a tire handling facility without a permit, according to court documents.
The trio never responded to either. The town got the court system involved,
and a state Supreme Court justice ordered the tires to be removed from the properties in an August 2022 court order. When the trio again did not respond, the court issued a further order stating that if the tires were not removed by Feb. 17, the town and the state would be permitted to enter the property themselves and remove the tires with the company footing the bill, though further court action now must
be taken for this process to begin.
Several calls placed by the Times Union to a number listed for Green Tire Recycling, which appeared to go to Shane Foster’s cellphone, were not returned.
Meanwhile, a DEC order from August 2022 also required the tires be removed, but the trio never responded, causing the DEC to fine the company nearly $182,000.
Even now, the trio has not responded to any of the orders, according to Hanse.
“They don’t operate like the rest of the civilized world does,” he said.
Hanse said the illegal dump, as well as being an eyesore, was “a mosquitobreeding heaven” and a fire hazard, pointing to a conflagration at the property in August that was extinguished before the tire piles caught flame. Hanse said the town does not have the resources to remove the tires on its own, and was waiting for direction from the state about the next move.
In a statement, the DEC said it “remains committed to working with the Town of Coxsackie to ensure the safe and efficient cleanup of Green Tire Recycling, an unauthorized waste tire operation at 1113 and 1131 State Route 81 in the hamlet of Climax. DEC is also committed to holding the owners and operators of the facility responsible for the unauthorized operations at both locations.”