Complaint ID 96800 — Public Copy

The division received Mr. Sherman Maine's records for the recovered materials operation today. A representative also went to the site for a follow up investigation. The investigation revealed that Mr. Maine was using a tub grinder and grinding the tree materials on the property. He stated in his letter that the pile in question is going to be ground for landscape mulch and is being sold to the general public as weather permits the materials are being converted as expeditiously as possible. Mr. Maine submitted documentation demonstrating compliance with the Recovery Material Rules and is actively removing the piles of vegetative material. Lowndes county is also overseeing the removal of the material from the site.

A representative of the Division spoke with Mr. Maine today because records have still not been received. Mr. Maine stated he has them and will send them to us first thing tomorrow (7/21/2021).

On June 24, 2021, Mr. Sherman Maine was contacted again to ask for a written description of his recovered materials operation. On June 29, 2021, Mr. Sherman Maine contacted the Division stating he would try to have his records mailed out to us next week (the week of July 5th)

Mr. Maine contacted us about the recovered materials operation. He stated he came into possession of the material when he bought the property and he does sell it off to power generation facilities. However, before he does that he has to send in a sample of the wood for moisture content. The moisture level in the old material does not meet the requirement for his end users so he grinds approximately 10-30% and mixes with the newer material so it can meet the moisture level for his end users. He will follow up with us about the process to demonstrate his compliance with the Rules

Tom and I visited the site and found multiple piles of tree debris dumped at the site as well as a tub grinder and a small pile of mulch. The tree debris piles appeared to be very old due to the presence of trees growing in/on the piles. No one was present at the site during the time of the investigation. Contact will be made with the property owner to request records demonstrating compliance with the recovered materials rules.