Metro Tire Landfill Lawsuit

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Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Friends of the Locust Fork sue Metro Recycling, Inc.
Metro Recycling’s Tire Landfill discharges carcinogens and other pollutants into waterways.

LOCUST FORK, AL. Black Warrior Riverkeeper has filed suit against Metro Recycling, Inc. in United States District Court. The lawsuit alleges that Metro Recycling’s significant and ongoing pollution violations have diminished water quality, recreation and wildlife habitat in the Locust Fork River.

The pollutants Metro Recycling illegally discharged include: Benzene (a known carcinogen), Chloromethane (possible carcinogen), 1,2-Dichloroethane (probable carcinogen), Ethylbenzene, Toluene, Vinyl Chloride (known carcinogen), and Xylenes, o,m,p. Laboratory results of Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s water samples indicated that Benzene and Vinyl Chloride were also present in concentrations exceeding maximum contaminant levels for drinking water.

Metro Recycling owns and operates a used tire disposal landfill, which discharges pollutants into Whites Creek, a tributary of the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River in Blount County, Alabama. Metro Recycling is in violation of the Clean Water Act and provisions of Alabama law. Metro Recycling has no permit to discharge into Whites Creek.

Members of Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Friends of Locust Fork River now recreate less on Locust Fork of Black Warrior River because of the defendant’s illegal discharges. The violations have had a detrimental impact on those members’ interests because the violations have adversely affected and diminished aquatic life in Black Warrior River and have made Black Warrior River less suitable for fishing, boating, wading, walking, observing nature, or relaxing.

Black Warrior Riverkepeer and the Friends of the Locust Fork River have petitioned the court to cease the violations and any illegal conduct by Metro Recycling. The Plaintiffs further request and petition the court to assess a $32,500.00 civil penalty for each violation and each day of continuing violation for which Metro Recycling is found liable. While Riverkeeper contends that Metro Recycling has been in continuous violation of the law, it has observed discharges on April 19, April 30, and June 20, 2007.

Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s Chief Prosecuting Attorney, Mark Martin, gave Metro Recycling more than 60 days notice of the Plaintiffs’ intent to sue before filing this lawsuit. The Plaintiffs, who simply seek to protect and restore the waterways Metro Recycling polluted, will not profit off any potential penalties assessed in the case.

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Founded in 2001 by David Whiteside, Black Warrior Riverkeeper is a citizen-based, non-profit organization working to protect and restore the Black Warrior River and its tributaries in order to ensure clean water, a healthy aquatic environment, and the recreational and aesthetic values of the river. Riverkeeper works to protect our water resources by monitoring the watershed, educating the public, and holding major polluters accountable for their violations. Black Warrior Riverkeeper is a proud member of Waterkeeper Alliance. On August 26, Riverkeeper won “2007 Conservation Organization of the Year” at the Alabama Environmental Council’s 40th Annual Meeting.