Rhoades' tires remain despite court order for cleanup
Attorney says client can't pay

By COURTNEY LAMDIN | Staff Writer
courtney@miltonindependent.com

The 90-day window for junkyard owner Gil Rhoades to clean up his tires has passed, and the behemoth pile remains. The attorney for the court-battled Rhoades said his client doesn’t have the money to remove the tires.

The Vermont Superior Court issued Rhoades a court order on October 13, telling him he had 90 days – until January 11 – to clean up his tires, estimated to number between 200,000 and 1 million.

Michael Gadue, Rhoades’ attorney, said his client has not removed any tires but has hosted between four and seven tire removal companies, all from out of state, to survey the number of tires onsite and quote a price to remove them.

Those companies estimate it will cost between $333,000 and $1 million to get rid of 200,000 tires on a roughly per-ton basis. The state guessed it would cost $184,000.

Gadue said he would send this data, along with a statement of Rhoades’ assets and debts, to the Vermont Attorney General’s office, the prosecutor in Rhoades’ case.

Rhoades was found liable for operating both an unlicensed junkyard and an uncertified solid waste facility, improperly managing hazardous waste and releasing lead at the site. For this, Rhoades was billed $45,000 in investigative fees and civil penalties – that’s in addition to paying to remove the tires and do additional soil sampling.

Gadue said his client’s income was shut off when the state shuttered Rhoades’ junkyard operation: “How does one come up with money if you don’t have a job, if you’re 70 years of age and you owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in various locations?” he asked.

Gadue said the state and/or town of Milton will likely pay, because “I just don’t think [the Rhoades] have any means to contribute to the amelioration of the problem.”

Further, Gadue said, the town and state have said the tire pile is a health and safety hazard, one he sees as increased since Rhoades is no longer working at the site, monitoring the pile.

“Because it is a health hazard, I think the state and the town enjoy some responsibility to ameliorate that if it is of sufficient seriousness,” Gadue said.

Fire Chief Don Turner said the town has an emergency response plan to address a fire at a large tire pile such as Rhoades’. The procedure includes using specialized and heavy equipment and numerous local and state agencies.

Turner said a fully involved fire there would be nightmarish to beat but noted the town has several equally or more dangerous locations, like large propane tanks at some businesses, feed stores full of fertilizer and even the trains that pass through town daily.

“This particular situation, although it is concerning, is not any more volatile than any of those other potential incidents,” Turner said.

Assistant Attorney General Rob McDougall, who heads the state’s case against Rhoades, said the state expects Rhoades to comply with the court order.

Asked about the state paying for Rhoades’ liabilities, McDougall said, “I’m not sure where [Rhoades and his attorney] would come up with that. The liability runs to Mr. Rhoades, not the state.”

McDougall said Rhoades’ finances – or lack thereof – is “a question that’s open.”

“He’d have to demonstrate, probably in court under oath, to his financial situation,” McDougall said. “It’s a little tough to speculate at this point.”

McDougall said he’s consulted with the Agency of Natural Resources about all possible outcomes and next steps but didn’t want to comment on any of them publicly, “except to say we expect the order would be complied with as we could with any court order.”

Gadue said his client took every possible measure to address the court’s order but that “you can’t get blood out of a proverbial stone.” He’s doubtful the state will take action to clean up the tires unless it faces a lawsuit, he said.

“Neither one of them [the town or state] wants the responsibility, but as sovereign entities who have a responsibility to their populous, I think they do have a responsibility,” Gadue said.