Idaho open dumping and waste tires

Open dumps and tire piles in Idaho are handled by several bodies. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) says counties and local governments can use solid waste, zoning and nuisance ordinances to require the cleanup of open dumps, and that DEQ and the public health districts follow up on complaints. Waste tires are governed by the Waste Tire Disposal Act (Idaho Code § 39-65), under which a county approves the larger tire storage sites.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 lists state landfill and solid waste disposal site records as a standard source, and the general reading is on the landfills and solid waste page. The DEQ pages read name no state list of open dumps or of approved waste tire storage sites, so this handbook does not pair these records with that type. They still bear on a property where dumping or a tire pile is seen or reported.

• Complaints go to more than one office. DEQ says to report an open dump, or ongoing dumping at an unapproved site, to the county solid waste department, the local public health district or the Bureau of Land Management, and that a report can also be made to DEQ. Ask each of them when dumping is suspected.
• Two hundred tires is the line. DEQ says that, unless specifically exempt or subject to a higher limit, persons and businesses are restricted to storing less than 200 on-road tires at a site. Storing more than 200 tires requires approval from the county and a cash bond of $2.50 per tire. Where a property holds a large tire pile, ask the county whether the storage was approved and bonded.
• Storage is read broadly. DEQ says storage includes any use of whole tires, whether or not part of a structure or other project. The definition of waste tire does not include off-road or farm tires.
• Tires may only go to approved sites. The Act prohibits the transport of waste tires to any site that is not an approved waste tire storage site or a site approved to accept tires for disposal. DEQ says illegal dumping of waste tires is prosecuted by cities, counties and the state, with penalties of up to $500 per tire.
• Recycling stockpiles have a clock. DEQ says the Solid Waste Management Rules (IDAPA 58.01.06) prohibit speculative accumulation of stockpiles of materials or recyclables, including tires, that may create a nuisance or have a public health impact. At least 50% of the tires stockpiled at a recycling facility are to be processed for reuse or disposal by the end of the calendar year after the date of first receipt. A facility that fails to do so is deemed an unauthorized facility or, where it is authorized, may be cited and fined.

Where to ask

• DEQ's Open / Illegal Dumping page links a document titled Contact County Solid Waste Departments and a page for the public health districts.
• DEQ's Report an Environmental Concern page takes reports, and gives an illegal dumping site as an example of a concern.
• For a situation that poses an imminent threat to human health or the environment, DEQ gives the StateComm number, (208) 846-7610.
• The pages read do not say where a list of county-approved tire storage sites is kept. Ask the county.

Getting the file

DEQ takes requests under the Idaho Public Records Act through its Public Records Request page, which carries buttons to submit a request online, track its status and search the request archives. County and health district records are requested from those bodies. The pages read do not say how.

Sources

Idaho Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 1, 2026:

• Open / Illegal Dumping, last modified December 15, 2025.
• Waste Tires, last modified December 15, 2025.
• Report an Environmental Concern, last modified July 27, 2026.
• Public Records Request, last modified August 18, 2026.