Columbus Man Must Pay $120,000 for Burying Truck, Trash, Tires
contact John Remy/SWACO 614-871-5100 Erin Strouse/Ohio EPA 614-644-2160
Ronald Wayne Gunn has been sentenced in connection with the burying of a trash truck and many tons of trash, tires and recyclables at his former northeast Columbus auto salvage yard, Ron’s Auto Repairs and Salvage Parts (1888 East 17th Avenue, Columbus).
On September 1, 2009, Gunn pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor water pollution charge and seven felonies (five charges of operating a solid waste landfill without a license and two charges of open dumping). Gunn had been accused of burying a trash truck, more than 76 tons of trash and recyclables and 2,000 mostly industrial-size tires (equivalent to 15,000 passenger tires).
Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Beverly Pfeiffer sentenced Gunn to six months home incarceration, $120,000 in restitution ($60,000 to Franklin County General Health Fund and $60,000 to Ohio EPA), 40 hours community service (removing trash from Franklin County roadways) and three years probation with four additional years of prison time suspended. Gunn must also find and keep employment, submit to random drug screens and abstain from committing crimes and/or environmental offenses.
The illegal dumping was discovered through a tip made to SWACO’s www.nailadumper.com Web site. On November 5 and 6, 2008, investigators from SWACO’s Nail-A-Dumper program (including the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office) and Ohio EPA’s Office of Special Investigations executed a search warrant at the site and discovered the remnants of one trash truck that had been buried five feet underground with a load of garbage. The scrap tires were buried in multiple other holes throughout the premises along with miscellaneous trash.
Crews dug for two days at the site to recover the evidence. The city of Columbus removed 16.4 tons of trash. Ohio EPA conducted the excavation of the truck and tires and coordinated a contractor to clean up and properly dispose of 31.05 tons of mixed solid waste, 29.48 tons of recyclable waste (metal wheel rims) and 180.54 tons of tires.
Ohio EPA distributed more than $48,000 from Ohio’s Scrap Tire Management Fund to remove, shred and dispose of the auto, tractor and truck tires found at the site. Each year, approximately 12 million scrap tires are generated in Ohio. More than 43 million tires at 93 sites have been removed from stockpiles or illegal dumps across the state since Ohio's Scrap Tire Abatement Program began in 1996. It is estimated five million scrap tires still remain illegally dumped throughout Ohio.
The accumulation of scrap tires constitutes a danger to the environment and the public’s health and safety. Scrap tire piles, if not properly managed, may harbor rats and become a prime breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes. Tire dumps also can spawn dangerous fires that produce noxious smoke and oils. Citizens are encouraged to call their local health department or Ohio EPA toll free at 1-877-372-2621 to report scrap tire dumps. More information is at: www.epa.ohio.gov/dsiwm/pages/tirepro.aspx.
The Nail-A-Dumper program is funded by SWACO. The team includes deputies from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, a prosecutor from the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office, representatives from the Franklin County Health Department and an employee of the Columbus Refuse Division. Residents may call the Nail-A-Dumper hotline at 614-871-5322, 24 hours a day to report illegal dumping or littering or they may log on to www.nailadumper.com to make their report.
More information about Ohio EPA’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI) is at www.epa.ohio.gov/osi/. The OSI is part of the Central Ohio Environmental Task Force, comprised of local, state and federal agencies.