Senate committee backs 3‑year, 50¢‑per‑tire fee to fund cleanup of abandoned tire piles

Senator Mark Harris presented Senate Bill 1089 to the Health and Welfare Committee, describing a longstanding problem: "there's about 20 or a little over 20 waste tire piles, abandoned waste tire piles across the state of Idaho, and nobody wants to do anything with them." The bill would establish a 50¢ fee per tire at point of sale for a three-year pilot fund administered by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to contract for cleanup of abandoned piles, provide partial reimbursements to tire recyclers and fund program costs subject to legislative appropriation.

Sponsor and stakeholder testimony traced the issue to Idaho’s original 1991 waste-tire law and a 2003 amendment that changed fee collection and local permitting. Roy Eguerin, representing Liberty Tire Recycling’s interests as a lobbyist, told the committee the bill "repeals the existing Waste Tire Disposal Act in Idaho and replaces it with a new chapter" and establishes a three-year pilot to clean piles and incent recycling. He said DEQ had identified 22 abandoned piles and the sponsors used other states (Utah, Colorado) as models. The bill sets a 50¢ per-tire fee for three years, requires annual reporting from DEQ and makes all expenditures subject to appropriation. Eguerin said the sponsors expect the fee to raise about $1,000,000 per year during the pilot.

Recyclers and industry speakers described markets and logistics. Rob Jarrus (identified as Rob Jerries in the record), an executive with Liberty Tire Recycling, said more business would flow to recyclers if cleanup funds made remote piles economical to collect. "I think we would make our standard margins that we make; it wouldn't be a windfall but it would be extra business," he said. Craig Hunter, president and CEO of Tire Reclaim in Caldwell, described local recycling operations and said the fee would allow recyclers to reach rural piles: "Tires do not truck well ... you can't get very many and move them very far without costing a fortune," he said, arguing the fee would reduce fire and mosquito hazards and increase recycling.

Stakeholders including the Association of Idaho Cities and the Idaho Association of Counties testified in support, saying local governments lack funds to remediate piles that can number in the thousands at a site. Testimony also noted differing inventory figures in the record: sponsors and DEQ references ranged from "about 21" abandoned piles to 22, and estimates of tires varied (testimony referenced figures of about 50,000 and an estimate of 153,000 tires). The record shows the bill creates tiers of partial reimbursement to recyclers and directs DEQ to provide annual program reports to legislature.

Senators debated the fee’s scope and the role of government. Supporters described the fee as a modest point‑of‑sale charge to remediate a public-health and environmental hazard; critics argued it imposes another mandatory fee on all tire buyers and questioned whether the private sector should handle cleanup without government involvement. Senator Wintrow said she had paid a disposal fee when buying tires and framed the proposal as a shared community solution to cleanup of illegally dumped piles.

Senator Wintrow moved to send SB 1089 to the floor with a due-pass recommendation; Senator Blaylock seconded. The committee took a roll call. The result was five aye votes and four nays (roll call shown in committee minutes). The committee chair announced, "So there being 5 ayes and 4 nays, the motion passes." The bill will now advance to the Senate floor subject to further legislative consideration and appropriation processes.

The bill sets a three‑year sunset for the fee; sponsors said the intent is to evaluate the pilot’s effectiveness and let the legislature decide whether to continue, modify or end the program.