The Montana Department of Environmental Quality is taking public comment on plans for a new tire landfill near Polson.

Tire Depot has filed an application for a Class III tire monofill, which would be located on 40 acres about 3.5 miles southeast of Polson, near the site of its current facility. The property was used as a gravel source for Treasure State Concrete and is currently an open pit.

According to application documents filed by Tire Depot owner Vern Reum, the landfill will have a lifespan of about 48 years. At the end of the landfill life, the area will be closed and used for range land or open space.

The total area proposed for tire disposal is 28 acres. The remaining 12 acres will be used for access roads, facility operations including soil stockpiling, storage and staging of cut and fill material, and equipment storage.

Tires will be shredded and placed into the landfill in trenches in 25-foot lifts. Once a lift is placed, 5 feet of soil will be placed over the tires. Another lift of tires will be placed over the first lift to reach the elevation of the existing ground around the pit. The fill progression will move south from the first trench.

The Tire Depot will place soil cover on the entire working area every 90 days.

10-foot wide “berms” will be installed between cells which act as a fire break.

Should a fire break out, the Tire Depot has 25,000 gallons of water available in an underground cistern, which will be used for fighting fires as well as dust control A liquid tire foam additive is also stored on site. The company also has sandy loam stored on the property. In the event of a tire fire, Treasure State Gravel in Polson will provide heavy earthmoving equipment to smother the blaze before it progresses too quickly, the DEQ application states.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality last week determined that Tire Depot’s application is complete and it will now analyze the potential impacts of the proposed project, as required by the Montana Environmental Policy Act.

The first phase of review is to conduct “scoping” to identify environmental issues associated with the proposed project. DEQ is seeking comments to identify potential impacts and possible alternatives to be considered.

The scoping period began on June 10 and has been extended to allow a public meeting to be held. The public is invited to submit comments until the close of business on July 24.

Written comments may be submitted by email to: [email protected] or mailed to the Waste and Underground Tank Management Bureau, Solid Waste Program, P.O. Box 200901, Helena, MT 59620-0901. Call 406-444-5300 for more information or guidance.

A public scoping meeting will be held on July 22, 2020, at 9 a.m. The meeting will provide the public with information on the proposed project and an opportunity to submit oral and written comments. Due to concerns around COVID-19, the meeting will be hosted virtually on Zoom. Contact the Solid Waste Program using the above information to register and receive a secure meeting link. Participants are asked to join the meeting ten minutes early to test their connection.

The application is available on DEQ’s website at: http://deq.mt.gov/Public/notices/solidwastelegalpublicnotice. Upon request, the Solid Waste Program will make a hard copy available for review.

DEQ will make reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities who wish to participate in the meeting. If you require an accommodation, please contact the Solid Waste Program using the information above at least one week before the meeting.