By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Gerald Hall sold land to John Kuhni Sons Incorporated
so they could build an animal rendering facility in Juab
County but, he said, he would refund the money he gained
from the sale if the plant would leave the county.
"I think I represent the majority of the citizens of
Juab County in recommending that you jerk the operating
license for John Kuhni and Sons Inc.," said Hall.
He did not think that the animal rendering plant
should be allowed to build waste water lagoons at the
site.
The State of Utah Water Quality Board, not the county
commission, has been responsible for sifting through alleged
violations of the Kuhni plant as far as waste water disposal
is concerned.
In fact, they have been advertising a public comment
period.
"The purpose of this public notice is to declare the
State of Utah has reached an agreement with John Kuhni &
Sons to resolve alleged violations of the Utah Water Quality
Act," reads the published notice.
Additional information and associated documents are
available for public review at the Division of Water
Quality, during regular business hours. Those interested are
requested to call 801-538-6146 to schedule an
appointment.
The comment period ended on Monday, August 21, 2006,
the day of commission meeting, and Hall wanted to make
certain comments of the county commission were filed in time
with Walter L. Baker, Executive Secretary of the Water
Quality Board.
"We have already asked the board to enforce the
regulations in the case of the Kuhni plant," said Neil Cook,
commission chairman.
He said the commission had little to do with the
decisions being made by the state concerning waste water
coming from the plant beyond making a request, as they had
done. However, they would submit, by end of day, a written
comment.
They had made their desires known, face to face, in
meetings, said Cook.
A review of the waste water disposal at the plant was
being made by the state as part of the process in reaching
an agreement with Kuhnis, he said.
"We are hopeful that this review will give us an
opportunity to revisit our conditional use permit," said
Cook.
Juab County does, through the cognitional use permit
in place, to monitor air quality and to impose fines for
failure to prevent odor escaping the plant.
Hall said that there was a terrible odor issuing from
the plant on Friday of the previous week. He had not called
the county sheriff's department because he had his name on
the agenda for Monday.
"We have to be documented," said Cook. "It is
important that the odor violation be reported right away so
that the sheriff's department can verify the report."
The county can impose a fine for each violation.
"I don't think that the violations should be lumped
together (as they have been in the past) but should be
handled one at a time," said Hall.
Cook said the county needed to be legal and above
board in their dealings with plant ownership. The commission
preferred to err on the side of caution.
Hall said he would happily refund the purchase price
if Kuhnis would agree to leave the county.
He did suggest, before any such future commercial
ventures occurred, that Juab County Commissioners review the
Utah County ordinance and adopt a similar one.
Alden Orme, sheriff, said, while it would be good for
the county if Kuhnis could succeed, they had been warned
enough.
Hall said that, to his way of thinking, it did not
seem right that a busy deputy or the sheriff should have to
travel to Mills to document every odor violation of the
plant.
"We want them to be a good county citizen," said
Robert Steele, commissioner. "They do need to obey the
rules. I support that 100 percent."
The ordinance covering the Kuhni plant was modified
after the plant opened and problems with odor occurred. It
was changed to allow commissioners to impose a fine of up to
$2,500 a day for each violation.
"We will respond and submit written comment today,"
said Val Jones, commissioner. "It has been frustrating for
everyone involved."
In addition to the water quality hearing, the state
also advertised an air quality comment period for this month
which ended on August 13, 2006.
John Kuhni Sons, Inc. requested a modification of AO
DAQE-2982001-04 to Include the alternative fuel option of
animal fat and addition of a Venturi Scrubber for odor
control.
The source will be located in Juab County which is an
attainment area for all pollutants. There will be no
violations of the NAAQS resulting from this project.
It is proposed that animal fat fuel be used as a fuel
source in the boilers
currently installed at this plant. It is also proposed to
add one (1) additional venturi scrubber for odor control
from the plant. John Kuhni Sons is located at 6480 W. Mills
Road.
The completed engineering evaluation and air quality
impact analysis showed that the proposed project meets the
requirements of federal air quality regulations and the
State of Utah air quality rules.
The proposal and estimate of the effect on local air
quality can be reviewed at the Division of Air Quality. Call
801-536-4000 to schedule an appointment.
The waste water disposal issue was important, said
Hall. Earlier in the year, for the first time, some of his
cattle suffered from the disease of e-coli. In spite of
medical treatment, he had lost some of those cattle.
While he was not blaming the disease on the Kuhni
plant, because the area were the cattle were located was
separated by some distance from the plant, he wanted
commissioners to understand what a deadly disease it could
be and how easily it could be transmitted.
If waste water at the plan is not handled in a safe
way, there could be an outbreak of the disease.
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