Maquoketa Business Fined For Burning Tires

A Maquoketa company has been fined by the Iowa DNR for placing waste tires among tree debris to hasten its burning in December. Brandenberg Drainage of Maquoketa was fined $4,500. Someone reported on December 5th a sudden accumulation of tires and a subsequent fire in a rural area north of Clinton. A DNR officer saw dark smoke emanating from a stand of trees and talked to the property owner, Thomas Stevenson, who said up to 10 tires had been burned. It’s illegal to burn tires in Iowa. Their fires emit toxic chemicals which eventually work their way into the ground.