As many as 500,000 tires at Delmar site

It's known as the blackhole of tires.

As many as one-half million tires are piled high at a site north of Delmar in western Sussex County.

On March 17, County Councilman Rob Arlett, R-Frankford, flew over the location with a county constable aboard a Delaware State Police helicopter in an ongoing effort to figure out the extent of illegal dump sites in the county.

“I was told the tires have been accumulating for 10 years,” Arlett said. “They are sitting there right next to a tax ditch.”

They also flew over another tire dump with tens of thousands of tires, east of Laurel. He said it's possible to see the site only from the air.

Arlett said DSP is partnering with the county to investigate illegal dumping based on complaints the county has received. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has jurisdiction over cleaning up scrap tire piles.

He said the flight helped document where the sites are and to better determine jurisdiction so county staff can partner with state agencies to get results.

Arlett said he flew over pristine wooded areas and thousands of acres of farmland. “I was enjoying the beauty we have here. The problem covers only about 5 percent of the county. The question is how do we address this challenge,” he said. “These are isolated parcels of concern, and we wanted to get a closer look.”

Another site under investigation is a parcel near Harbeson where trailers are dumped and are being dismantled, Arlett said.

In addition, they flew over a 19-acre illegal dump site along Beaver Dam Road near Millville. County constables and Arlett had visited the location earlier after receiving a complaint. “We actually found out it's a little bigger than we thought,” Arlett said.

“It was an eye-opening experience,” Arlett said. “I look forward to working with by council and state counterparts to find solutions to these issues.”

DNREC has a scrap tire management program aimed at reducing some of the more than 750,000 scrap tires produced in the state each year. The recycling program is funded by a $2 fee charged on each new tire sold in the state.

The program registers and implements cleanup of piles of more than 100 tires in existence since June 30, 2006.