1. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to haul for commercial profit, collect, process, or dispose of scrap tires in the state except as provided in this section. This section shall not be construed to prohibit scrap tires from being hauled to a lawfully operated facility in another state. Scrap tires shall be collected at a scrap tire site, scrap tire processing facility, scrap tire end-user facility, or a scrap tire collection center. A violation of this subdivision shall be a class C misdemeanor for the first violation. A second and each subsequent violation shall be a class A misdemeanor. A third and each subsequent violation, in addition to other penalties authorized by law, may be punishable by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars and restitution may be ordered by the court.

(2) A person shall not maintain a scrap tire site unless the site is permitted by the department of natural resources for the proper and temporary storage of scrap tires or the site is an integral part of the person’s permitted scrap tire processing facility or registered scrap tire end-user facility. No new scrap tire sites shall be permitted by the department after August 28, 1997, unless they are located at permitted scrap tire processing facilities or registered scrap tire end-user facilities. A person who maintained a scrap tire site on or before August 28, 1997, shall not accept any quantity of additional scrap tires at such site after August 28, 1997, unless the site is an integral part of the person’s scrap tire processing or end-user facility, or unless the person who maintains such site can verify that a quantity of scrap tires at least equal to the number of additional scrap tires received was shipped to a scrap tire processing or end-user facility within thirty days after receipt of such additional scrap tires.

(3) A person shall not operate a scrap tire processing facility unless the facility is permitted by the department. A person shall not maintain a scrap tire end-user facility unless the facility is registered by the department. The inventory of unprocessed scrap tires on the premises of a scrap tire processing or end-user facility shall not exceed the estimated inventory that can be processed or used in six months of normal and continuous operation. This estimate shall be based on the volume of tires processed or used by the facility in the last year or the manufacturer’s estimated capacity of the processing or end-user equipment. This estimate may be increased from time to time when new equipment is obtained by the owner of the facility, and shall be reduced if equipment used previously is removed from active use. The inventory of processed scrap tires on the premises of a scrap tire processing or end-user facility shall not exceed two times the permitted inventory of an equivalent volume of unprocessed scrap tires.

(4) Any person selling new, used, or remanufactured tires at retail shall accept, at the point of transfer, in a quantity equal to the number of tires sold, scrap tires from customers, if offered by such customers. Any person accepting scrap tires may charge a reasonable fee reflecting the cost of proper management of any scrap tires accepted; and which tire is required to be accepted on a one-for-one basis at the time of a retail sale pursuant to this subdivision. All tire retailers or other businesses that generate scrap tires shall use a scrap tire hauler permitted by the department, except that businesses that generate or accept scrap tires in the normal course of business may haul such scrap tires without a permit, if such hauling is performed without any consideration and such business maintains records on the scrap tires hauled as required by sections 260.270 to 260.276. Retailers shall not be liable for illegal disposal of scrap tires after such scrap tires are delivered to a scrap tire hauler, scrap tire collection center, scrap tire site, scrap tire processing facility or scrap tire end-user facility if such entity is permitted by the department of natural resources.

(5) It shall be unlawful for any person to transport scrap tires for consideration within the state without a permit.

(6) Scrap tires may not be deposited in a landfill unless the tires have been cut, chipped or shredded.

2. Within six months after August 28, 1990, owners and operators of any scrap tire site shall provide the department of natural resources with information concerning the site’s location, size, and approximate number of scrap tires that have been accumulated at the site and shall initiate steps to comply with sections 260.270 to 260.276.

3. The department of natural resources shall promulgate rules and regulations pertaining to collection, storage and processing and transportation of scrap tires and such rules and regulations shall include:

(1) Methods of collection, storage and processing of scrap tires. Such methods shall consider the general location of scrap tires being stored with regard to property boundaries and buildings, pest control, accessibility by fire-fighting equipment, and other considerations as they relate to public health and safety;

(2) Procedures for permit application and permit fees for scrap tire sites and commercial scrap tire haulers, and by January 1, 1996, procedures for permitting of scrap tire processing facilities and registration of scrap tire end-user facilities. The only purpose of such registration shall be to provide information for the documentation of scrap tire handling as described in subdivision (5) of this subsection, and registration shall not impose any additional requirements on the owner of a scrap tire end-user facility;

(3) Requirements for performance bonds or other forms of financial assurance for scrap tire sites, scrap tire end-user facilities, and scrap tire processing facilities;

(4) Exemptions from the requirements of sections 260.270 to 260.276; and

(5) By January 1, 1996, requirements for record-keeping procedures for retailers and other businesses that generate scrap tires, scrap tire haulers, scrap tire collection centers, scrap tire sites, scrap tire processing facilities, and scrap tire end-user facilities. Required record keeping shall include the source and number or weight of tires received and the destination and number of tires or weight of tires or tire pieces shipped or otherwise disposed of and such records shall be maintained for at least three years following the end of the calendar year of such activity. Detailed record keeping shall not be required where any charitable, fraternal, or other nonprofit organization conducts a program which results in the voluntary cleanup of land or water resources or the turning in of scrap tires.

4. Permit fees for scrap tire sites and commercial scrap tire haulers shall be established by rule and shall not exceed the cost of administering sections 260.270 to 260.275. Permit fees shall be deposited into an appropriate subaccount of the solid scrap management fund.

5. The department shall:

(1) Encourage the voluntary establishment of scrap tire collection centers at retail tire selling businesses and scrap tire processing facilities; and

(2) Investigate, locate and document existing sites where tires have been or currently are being accumulated, and initiate efforts to bring these sites into compliance with rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to the provisions of sections 260.270 to 260.276.

6. Any person licensed as an auto dismantler and salvage dealer under chapter 301 may without further license, permit or payment of fee, store but shall not bury on his property, up to five hundred scrap tires that have been chipped, cut or shredded, if such tires are only from vehicles acquired by him, and such tires are stored in accordance with the rules and regulations adopted by the department pursuant to this section. Any tire retailer or wholesaler may hold more than five hundred scrap tires for a period not to exceed thirty days without being permitted as a scrap tire site, if such tires are stored in a manner which protects human health and the environment pursuant to regulations adopted by the department.

7. Notwithstanding any other provisions of sections 260.270 to 260.276, a person who leases or owns real property may use scrap tires for soil erosion abatement and drainage purposes in accordance with procedures approved by the department, or to secure covers over silage, hay, straw or agricultural products.

8. The department of transportation shall, beginning July 1, 1991, undertake, as part of its currently scheduled highway improvement projects, demonstration projects using recovered rubber from scrap tires as surfacing material, structural material, subbase material and fill, consistent with standard engineering practices. The department shall evaluate the efficacy of using recovered rubber in highway improvements, and shall encourage the modification of road construction specifications, when possible, for the use of recovered rubber in highway improvement projects.

9. The director may request a prosecuting attorney to institute a prosecution for any violation of this section. In addition, the prosecutor of any county or circuit attorney of any city not within a county may, by information or indictment, institute a prosecution for any violation of this section.