Program ready to remove "junk vehicles"
The Junk Vehicle Program has two junk yards; this one is located outside of Hot Springs. The program collects about 200 vehicles in a yard and then has a crusher come out to recycle them and haul them away.
Do you have old vehicles that are collecting rust on your property? Do have wrecked, ruined cars causing an eyesore to your neighbors?
The state of Montana has a solution for this issue. The “Junk Vehicle” program is funded through the state government and will come and remove any car or light truck and haul it to a local junkyard. A small fee is added to everyone’s state vehicle registration, according to the Junk Vehicle program’s web page, which pays for the program.
The snow is starting to melt in Montana, which means that those vehicles parked in a field are unburied now, and is the time for spring-cleaning, inside and outside properties. Sanders County is able to provide disposal and hauling of unwanted vehicles for free.
Montana law states that a “junk vehicle” can be an eye sore and should be shielded from public view. A junk vehicle is defined as a “motor vehicle that is discarded, ruined, wrecked or dismantled; not lawfully and validly licensed; and remains inoperative or incapable of being driven,” according to the Junk Vehicle Program.
“The program is fully funded from the state, and this year we have a surplus in our budget, so people should really take advantage of this free service,” said Kathy Matthew, the director of the Montana Junk Vehicles Program.
In order to have a vehicle hauled away, and eventually crushed and recycled, the vehicle or property owner has to fill out a release form and return it to the Land Services Department. The Sheriff’s Department then runs the vehicle identification number through their system to verify ownership. If approved, the vehicle is then removed from the property within two weeks.
The program plans to use their capital improvement fund to upgrade their yards and facilities, and for example, installing new fences for better security to the yards. The yards are owned by the state and trespassing is illegal, said Matthew.
“People often jump the yard fences and get in to steel parts from other vehicles as well as dump other belongings such as furniture or tires for example,” said Matthew.
According to Matthew, the program originated in 1973 by the Johnson presidential administration with Lady Bird Johnson, to clean up the neighborhoods and beautify the roadways in America.
The program hauled 76 vehicles in 2010, 123 in 2009, and 149 in 2008, according to Matthew. There are two yards in Sanders County are located in Trout Creek and Hot Springs. Usually the maximum amount of vehicles that can be removed from one property is five, but since there is a surplus in the budget this year, the program could probably take more, said Matthew.
“It is a constant battle to keep up with the vehicles. One year we will haul away multiple vehicles from a property, and then the next year, there are more piling up in the same area,” said Matthew.
In the last 10 years, the program has recycled about 2,000 vehicles. If you would like more information about the program contact the Land Services Department at 827-6961 or go online to their website at www.sanderscounty.mt.gov to get a release form