Tire disposal fees would more than double under a state proposal that would direct the money to be spent on clean technology research instead of getting rid of discarded tires.The bill, passed by the Senate and assigned to the House Transportation Committee, would raise fees to $3.25 per tire from $1.50.Because El Paso County has what’s said to be the largest stockpile of used tires in the nation, the county would like to grab some of the state’s tire-fee fund to help get rid of 30 million to 40 million tires stored south of Colorado Springs.County commissioners in December granted a permit to Colorado Energy Recyclers LLC, which plans to shred the tires and burn them in a cement plant south of Pueblo.”The argument could be made it’s taking a state law which is designed to encourage the recycling of tires, which are a huge hazard and a problem throughout all counties, and it’s diverting those funds elsewhere,” Commission Chairman Jim Bensberg said.”Since we have this huge identified site at Midway,” Bensberg said, referring to the disposal site 25 miles south of Colorado Springs, “we’d like to get some state funds to help the permittee clean that up.”He said a fire would be devastating for the environment, considering each tire contains two quarts of oil. Also, firefighting costs are high, because foam must be used to extinguish a tire blaze.Although such tire fees usually pay for cleanup or creation of markets for scrap tires, Colorado spends 80 percent of the current tire fee for other things, including economic development, the Washington, D.C.-based Rubber Manufacturers Association said in a statement.The group opposes the fee hike but supports state fees used to fund scrap tire management.The RMS noted Colorado hasn’t been active in either stockpile abatement or developing markets for the 4.5 million scrap tires generated in the state each year.”Colorado’s pro-environment reputation is challenged by the state’s abysmal record in managing waste tires,” Michael Blumenthal, RMA vice president, said in the statement.The RMA’s state-by-state survey of scrap tire management showed Colorado has the most stockpiled tires with 45 million – more than a third of the 125 million total nationwide – creating a health, safety, fire and environmental hazard.The tire fee increase would generate roughly $5 million a year through July 1, 2014, and would be charged for all tires except those that are recapped or otherwise reprocessed for use.An official with the Department of Local Affairs, which administers the tire fund, said the fund contains $780,000 now, but couldn’t provide how the money is allocated.The additional fee would be handled by the Office of Economic Development.-Call Zubeck at 636-0238

Molly the mule was shot and killed March 12 near Woodland Park. Photo by Courtesy Photo