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Recordn�t.com http://www.recordnet.com/daily/news/articles/102602-gn-7.php Dld/_11 JCt lV Services With the Royster fire, officials decided putting the fire out would cause Preside worse damage to the environment. Mike Fitzgerald South Korea Francis Garland The water"would have just forced those oils down into the Soccer Te; Lori Gilbert groundwater," Peck said. EBrazil Celeli Eric Grunder Turns Jeff Hood On Friday, Fragoso walked through the site, where mounds of wires Ur from the tires' steel belts and some old trucks-- including one with Community Info stenciled black letters that read "S.F. Royster Tire Disposal" --offer no U.S. Soccerf Government evidence of what started the horrific blaze that August afternoon. 10th in W OfficialsWorld's Worse Outlook 2002 "When it started off, we would try to predict how long it would take to Events burn out," Fragoso said. "We started with two weeks, then two months, Soccer Ho Stockton Cal then six months. After six months, we stopped predicting, because we were always wrong." Stockton I In December 2000, the state finally snuffed the smoky fire, and the legal rReceive email wrangling overwho would clean up the site --and how-- began to heat San Joaquir aily uprom Recordnet.com The state has spent roughly$400,000 so far on the Royster site, and the waste-management board is pursuing the Royster estate to recover the cost of extinguishing the fire and future cleanup efforts. News Tracker The state has slapped a lien on the Royster property for$9 million, Member which is the estimated cleanup cost, officials said. For the time being, the state is paying for the cleanup with funds from the state's tire fee, which was increased to$1 per tire in 2000 to clean RECup both the Royster and Westley sites, remove other illegal tire piles and Subscribe• • set up market-development programs and a waste-tire tracking system to prevent the creation of new tire dumps. Preferred Customer • Placer Fragoso doesn't blame Royster for the fire, saying the man simply �,Record Design provided a place for people to bring millions of used tires. .. Opportunities CONTACT "As far as we're concerned, it was a blessing in disguise," Fragoso said. "It was a solution to the problem (of having so many tires stockpiled). "Everyone made Royster look like some kind of criminal, but he was doing a service," he added. "The problem would still be there if it weren't for the fire. It was a situation that took about 20 years to accumulate, and they'd give him six months to resolve it." Fragoso doesn't see the need to clean up the site. He said a layer of clay underground stops the toxins from seeping into the groundwater, and the site otherwise serves little purpose. "They're going to put a lot of money into a hole in the ground that nobody seems to want in the first place," he said. "It was a waste pit, basically, for 40 years. What would they do with it? It'll be another 40 years before you get somebody who would be able to utilize it." "To reach reporter Victor Balta, phone 546-8272 or e-mail vbalta@recordnet.com �-L-,. i 2 of 3 10/26/2002 2:32 PM