In September 2002, over 23,000 pounds of raw material was illegally dumped in Peoria, IL, landing a greedy hauler, Robert Markham, in jail (see Newsline, December 2002 Render). Five months later, Markham pled guilty to one count of criminal disposal of waste and was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. His sentence will be served concurrently with sentences also received from guilty pleas to unrelated charges of felony retail theft and possession of a controlled substance.
In early September, Markham was hired by a hide processor to transport and properly dispose of the company’s fleshings, the remaining muscle and fat by-products stripped from animal hides before the skins are used for leather. State law permits disposal of such by-products in county landfills with a special waste permit. Instead, Markham dumped plastic bags containing the material at four different locations in rural areas of Peoria. Local residents discovered the material after reporting a foul odor coming from the side of several rural roads.
National By-Products, a renderer in Mason City, IL, aided the Illinois Department of Agriculture and the hide processor, Noroper, in cleaning up the illegal disposal sites. In the end, Noroper paid substantially higher costs to properly dispose of the dumped materials compared to the cost of having it collected by a renderer. National By-Products hauled the material to a local landfill.
Along with Markham’s case, civil complaints were filed against three individuals: Jose Torres Sanchez, Ricardo Rodriguez, and Jose Rodelfo Rodriguez. Each were charged with two counts: transportation of rendering material without a license and failure to retain records. According to Scott Mulford of the Illinois Attorney General’s office, arrest warrants were issued in November for all three individuals.
Sacramento Renderer Wins Legal Battle
For the past year, Sacramento Rendering Company (SRC), Sacramento, CA, has been in legal turmoil with the region’s largest developer who has plans to build 22,000 homes, several shopping centers, parks, and a school on 2,632 acres near the rendering plant. The first phase of the project as planned will put 10,000 homes within one to four miles of SRC, in the path of prevailing winds. One issue of debate has been who was going to pay the millions of dollars needed to upgrade SRC’s odor control equipment to reduce the rendering company’s odor to “acceptable” levels (see Newsline, June 2002 Render).
SRC had previously spent $300,000 to upgrade their odor control equipment, but the developer originally demanded that the renderer spend $1.7 million more. SRC argued that those who encroach on the plant should pay for any upgrades.
In the heat of the debate last summer, SRC was victorious when a lawsuit filed by the developers in an attempt to shut down the rendering plant was tossed out of court (see Newsline, October 2002 Render). The judge cited a state law that protects agricultural processing facilities established for more than three years in the same location from nuisance lawsuits, as long as the facility was not a nuisance at the time it began. SRC reigned in court again after the company filed a counter suit against the developer and won reimbursement of attorney’s fees.
Also last summer, Sacramento County planning officials passed a resolution that the developer could not obtain any building permits until the odor equipment was installed. The developer has now agreed to pay the $2.7 million projected costs to install the new state-of-the-art odor control equipment at SRC, which should be completed within the next 15 to 18 months.
SRC’s Michael P. Koewler said that even though the developer is paying for the expense of the equipment and installation, SRC must absorb the estimated $30,000 to $35,000 monthly maintenance costs in perpetuity to run the equipment.
Although the legal battles have been trying, Koewler said he has remained optimistic about the planned development near his family’s business and feels that both can coexist in harmony.
Newsline - April 2003 Render