FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 21, 2001
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Kim Smith, 773-3152

Governor Janklow's Spruce Up Project Accomplishing Goal

PIERRE – Gov. Bill Janklow thanked South Dakotans for embracing the Spruce Up South Dakota project that is helping clean up communities across the state.

"People have really made this a winner. You only need to look around to see that a difference is being made," Janklow said.

Waste tire piles have dwindled or are gone. Old buildings and junked vehicles that dotted the landscape are disappearing. Underground petroleum tanks have been removed along with the threat they posed to surrounding ground water.

"I wasn’t sure what to expect when I announced this project to clean up the entire state early in 2000. Frankly, I was afraid it wouldn't get moving fast enough," Janklow said. "What's made this so successful is what South Dakota is all about: neighbors helping neighbors."

Here is a summary of what's been accomplished through December 1, 2001, for the six major parts of Spruce Up:

Tires and batteries – 3,416,238 tires have been collected. Waste tires are hauled to an approved facility, where they are shredded so they can be mixed with coal and burned at the Big Stone Power plant near Milbank. The tire collections include identified waste tire stockpiles throughout the state and waste tire collections held in every county in the state. The state is wrapping up waste tire collection efforts in western South Dakota. The program will return for one more sweep through eastern South Dakota in 2002.

Waste tire piles pose environmental, health, and safety threats. Removing the tires reduces threats to air pollution, fire danger, rodent and insect infestations, and assists in beautifying the state.

There have also been 10,029 vehicle batteries collected and taken to recyclers. Getting rid of old batteries reduces threats to ground water and property from lead and acid as old batteries corrode and leak. There are also threats to personal safety from acid burns, lead exposure, and explosions from hydrogen gas given off by batteries.

Underground petroleum storage tanks – 3,121 old tanks have been identified at 2,215 sites throughout the state. Approximately 2,675 tanks and 550,000 gallons of petroleum product and contaminated water have been removed from 1,912 sites. Identified tanks are removed by the state, then cut and taken to a nearby restricted use facility, landfill, or recycler. Tank removals are difficult during winter months, but will resume next spring until all identified tanks have been removed.

Removing abandoned underground petroleum tanks that corrode and leak over time protects our ground water resources for future generations.

Abandoned buildings – 1,026 buildings have been removed. Removal is on a voluntary basis by decision of the property owner. For those buildings that cannot be taken down through local efforts or by burning in place, the state has an excavator systematically making its way through eastern South Dakota counties to demolish buildings. The owner is responsible for disposing of the demolished building. The excavator is in Codington, Deuel, Brookings, and Lincoln counties during December and early January. It is scheduled to move to Union, Clay, and Yankton counties early next year.

Removal of the old buildings reduces environmental hazards and safety hazards.

Pesticides – 94,343 empty pesticide containers have been collected and recycled and 30.4 tons of unusable pesticides have been collected and disposed of properly through a state program. Pesticide containers are collected during late summer and unusable pesticides are collected during the fall each year.

Proper disposal of pesticides reduces threats to the environment and safety hazards.

Junked vehicles – 3,362 vehicles have been collected and crushed thus far. Extremely low metal prices have hindered this aspect of the project. Until metal prices improve to a point where recyclers can recover expenses for transporting old vehicles to markets, it is anticipated that this aspect of Spruce Up South Dakota will not realize its full potential of getting these vehicles crushed and removed.

White goods – 13,808 tons of old refrigerators, washers, dryers, freezers, appliances, and metals have been collected for metal recycling. Similar to the situation for junked vehicles, low metal prices have hindered recyclers and prevented this project from reaching its potential.

For more information visit the Spruce Up website at www.spruceupsd.com or contact your nearest state Spruce Up coordinator in Sioux Falls at 782-3108, Watertown at 882-5102, or Rapid City at 355-3493.