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Harold Rock expedites Irasburg scrap yard cleanup; everything sold to Hardwick recycling company |
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Thursday, 06 September 2007 |
A loader moves tires Wednesday from beside River Road deeper onto Harold Rock's property. Rock sold his scrap to All Metals Recycling to get his yard cleaned up more quickly. Much of the property that was covered by piles of metal, tires, and other debris is already noticeably clear. The cleanup could take two to four weeks. (Photo by Steve Blake)
By STEVE BLAKE
Express Staff Writer
IRASBURG - When Harold Rock told Judge Edward Cashman at a Civil Court hearing at his scrap yard Aug. 24 that he had just sold all his salvage to All Metals Recycling, it's likely not many there believed him. But the piles are quickly disappearing as the scrap is loaded into bins and hauled away by the Hardwick company.
Rock said he did, indeed, sell the scrap to All Metals Recycling that day.
"I want out of this whole area," Rock said in an interview Wednesday afternoon at his yard. "I got tired of arguing. There comes a time when you have to call it quits."
Rock said he no longer owns any of the scrap other than his equipment, and he has even sold some of that.
Last September, Cashman ordered Rock to cease accepting scrap and to clean up what was on his property and that belonging to the state. The state filed a civil complaint against his operation. The town of Irasburg followed with its own complaint a short time later. The court gave him until November this year to clean up the properties.
Neither of the complainants has been satisfied with the progress Rock has made. Rock has said he wanted to separate the salvage and ship it out in the most profitable way for him. Assistant Attorney General Jeanne Elias has been frustrated that Rock has not provided documentation of how much has gone out. Selectmen from Irasburg wanted to slope River Road, which runs alongside the scrap yard, to make it safer for traffic. Meanwhile, Rock has disputed the width of the road. He said he's sure it's a two-rod road, and not three as the town contends.
Rock said Wednesday he sold the scrap "for next to nothing." He said he figures he will lose about $100,000. Randy Towns of All Metals Recycling said he won't be able to tell until it is separated.
The cleanup will take another two to four weeks, Towns said. The company began removing the scrap Tuesday, Aug. 28, four days after the latest court hearing.
"We're making good progress," he said.
Although no one from the town had gone by the yard as of Wednesday, Jeff Bourdeau of the state Department of Environmental Conservation has checked up on the progress and encouraged the company to continue, Towns said.
The process could go more quickly, Rock said, if trucks could be loaded on the side of the road, but the town will not allow it.
Other than his equipment, Rock wants to keep some of the antiques that are mixed in with the piles of scrap, but, he said, he might have to sell them to make enough money to move. He would not comment where he plans to go, but he said it is about 300 miles away. He said he has financing in place to buy property. He expects to move by the middle of next year. For this winter, he said, he doesn't know what he'll do for income.
Irasburg Selectman Ken Johnson said in a telephone interview Wednesday evening he has not been to the site, but he is pleased with the news.
"I think it's very good having someone take it away and clean up the project," he said. He said he was afraid Rock would pick what he needed out of the scrap and leave.
"We were concerned about our right-of-way," Johnson said. He explained if the town couldn't pitch the slope of the road correctly on the curve near Rock's house because of the scrap pile, it would have to put in a guard rail.
On Wednesday, the loader was moving tires piled close to the road to a pile further onto Rock's property. Rock said he will keep some tires, but farmers are going to get some next month. It will take a month to get through the tires and rims, he said. Farmers will take tires without rims.
Rock said he had a junk yard permit in 1991, but the state did not renew it in 1993, because he had no fence. He learned that he needed an Act 250 permit to put up a fence, he said.
Rock said his trouble started when his neighbor sold some land to the state. He had scrap piled on land he thought was his, but as it turned out, it was part of the parcel of wetlands the state bought.
Cashman said at the last hearing he would set up another hearing in late September, but nothing has been posted on the Superior Court web site schedule. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 10 September 2007 )
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