Maryland man sentenced to 45 days for illegally dumping more than 250,000 scrap tires
BALTIMORE -- A Maryland man was sentenced to 45 days in jail for illegally dumping over 250,000 tires in Allegany County, according to Attorney General Anthony Brown.
In 2021, 48-year-old Michel Osei, of Hanover, went to the Allegany County Office of Economic Development with a proposal to operate a scrap tire recycling facility.
In his proposal, Osei said the facility would employ 50 people and already had millions of dollars in contracts to send the recycled tires overseas, according to the AG.
The county offered a land lease with terms for an industrial parcel bordering the Potomac River in Westernport.
On July 19, 2021, Osei started operating the facility. According to the AG, Osei and his employees collected over 100,000 scrap tires from various locations in West Virginia.
The tires were taken to the recycling facility and few, if any, were ever removed, Attorney General Brown said.
Inspectors with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) became aware of the facility on October 7, 2021. During an inspection of the site, officials documented about 10,000 to 15,000 scrap tires, according to the AG.
At that time, the facility did not have permits and the tires were being stored outside, uncovered, in piles that created a fire hazard.
MDE contacted the Maryland State Office of the Fire Marshal due to the serious fire risk, according to the attorney general.
Between the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022, MDE and the Fire Marshal's Office ordered Osei to cease operations several times.
Osei eventually abandoned the facility in September 2022, and officials estimated that over 250,000 scrap tires were left across the property and in tractor-trailer containers.
Allegany County has since started to clean up the site.
On October 16, 2024, Osei pleaded guilty to 17 environmental crimes, including unlawful disposal for gain, operating a scrap tire facility without a license and improper handling of waste, according to the attorney general.
He was sentenced to serve 45 days in jail and five years of probation. He was also ordered to pay $250,000 in restitution to the Allegany County Commissioners, and a fine of $300,000 to the Maryland Clean Water Fund, though that requirement was suspended, according to the attorney general.
Maryland Environmental Crimes
In a similar incident, a Waldorf man pleaded guilty in November to violating Maryland's environmental laws after dumping thousands of gallons of diesel fuel. He was sentenced to 60 days in jail and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Illegal dumping has been a major issue in Baltimore City. In January, the city's Housing Department installed high-tech cameras to crack down on the issue.
The cameras have night vision and capture a clear image to better help investigators catch the culprits. City officials said 100 cameras were installed to monitor 60 known dump sites.
Officials said with the cameras, they can impose criminal charges instead of threatening citations and fines.