729 more tires recovered from Tug River

Old tires look like Cheerios floating in a bowl in the Tug River as volunteers dug them out of the sand and mud so they could be removed from the stream. (Courtesy photo John Burchett)

BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

BORDERLAND, W.Va. — The tire cleanup for the Tug River continued Aug. 28 at Borderland, just north of Williamson.

What workers thought would be a light day wading the river turned into a major waste tire cleanup just below the Borderland access site. The official number was 729 old tires recovered from the stream.

The Friends of Tug Fork River group thanked local volunteers, Stream Sweepers Central Appalachia Project, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Kentucky Division of Water, and the West Virginia Division of Environmental Protection program REAP.

Volunteers and organizations from West Virginia and Kentucky drug out 729 more old tires out of the Tug River on Aug. 28. (Courtesy photo John Burchett)

Support for the event came from Williamson Health and Wellness Center, which provided food for the hungry crew. Also, Nolan area resident Jerome Marcum allowed the use of his property while Steve Francis provided labor and equipment to clean up and repair the old boat ramp at the site.

“The vast majority of these tires have been in the river for decades,” said John Burchett of Friends of the Tug Fork River. “They are from a time of weak regulation, poor enforcement and a culture of uncaring. Times and culture have changed but the tires have remained – until now.”

, , ,

Leave a Reply