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Gifford site cleared of 7,000 tires, 250k pounds of debris - VeroNews: Indian River Count... Page 2 of 2 County Environmental specialist Charles Vogt, who monitored the cleanup for the County, said the problems at the site and the amount of debris turned out to be much greater than what was thought in June. He said Paladin dealt with each fresh discovery of more buried waste and dangerous materials quickly and effectively. In the end, more than 7,000 tires and 250,000 pounds of debris were hauled away and disposed of in accordance with environmental regulations. "It is not very often that I gel to thank someone in my job, but I offer my wholehearted thanks to Joe Paladin for the job he and his people did," Vogt told the board. "Every day was like Christmas, going out there and seeing things get done." Paladin said he had 20 to 25 men working for approximately 60 days between mid-June and mid- August; including truck drivers, heavy equipment operators and a fulltime environmental engineer to tell crews how to dispose of hazardous items such as high pressure gas tanks and illegal septic tanks. He said the job has cost $80,000 so far and will probably top out at $100,000. Vogt and Paladin showed photos of the cleared site, which will be seeded and maintained as a grassy lot for the foreseeable future. Paladin has a radar scanning contractor coming to scan the property to see if there is additional material underground that needs to be removed. He is waiting to seed the lot until that survey and any needed excavation are complete. Even though it took Paladin more than 45 days to complete the project, the board waived the $500 -per -day penalty and reduced the $42,500 fine to $15,000. "I was appalled at the conditions that existed in the community [when I saw that site]," said Glade, "and 1 ant overwhelmed by the success of Mr. Paladin and his people in getting it cleaned up." "Ile did a very good job and took care of everything that came up," said board member Patrick Walther. who made the motion to reduce the fine. Paladin called the proiect a joint effort, citing strong support from the Gifford community and expert assistance form county staff as essential to its success. http://wti-A-.veronews.conl/news/indian_river_county/spotl ighilgifford-si te-cleared-of-tires-... 4/7/2016 P15