Post by crudo on Dec 9, 2005 12:39:47 GMT -5
Time's up for Modesto Tallow
Rendering plant, air district agree to closing date of Dec. 31, 2006
By JOHN HOLLAND
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: December 9, 2005, 04:15:10 AM PST
Modesto Tallow Co., long criticized for the foul odors drifting from its plant, will shut down by the end of next year, officials said Thursday.
The owners of the south Modesto plant agreed to stop rendering livestock carcasses and to phase out other operations by Dec. 31, 2006, under a settlement with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
The news brought relief to parents at Shackelford Elementary School, which has sat less than 1,000 feet from the plant since 1948.
"When the kids go out to play, it smells just terrible," said Esmeralda Avila as she picked up daughters Vanessa, 5, and Cassandra, 4, on Thursday afternoon. "It's good that they'll be able to breathe pure air."
The announcement, while cheered by the plant's critics, raised concern in farming circles about whether other rendering plants could fill the gap.
The air district sought the shutdown in a lawsuit filed in August. It followed years of odor complaints and efforts to fix the problem at the 88-year-old plant.
"We regret that closure of the operation became our only option," Bill Shirley, an executive with the plant's parent company in Texas, said in a district news release announcing the settlement.
He could not be reached for further comment. Plant co-owner Jeff Podesto, whose family operated it for decades, referred inquiries to the Texas company.
The plant employed about 65 people as of Thursday, the news release said.
"It is unfortunate that jobs will be lost, but it has been a long-standing nuisance for the neighborhood," said Catherine Tognazzini, assistant counsel for the district.
Phased closure prevents 'crisis'
The settlement allows the plant to process chicken feathers until May 3, as long as it installs improved odor controls.
It also allows operation through 2006 of a "transfer station" for restaurant grease and for trimmings from slaughterhouses and butcher shops, Tognazzini said. These remains can stay at the plant for up to 24 hours before being shipped to other rendering plants, she said.
Tognazzini said the closure is in phases because "we didn't want to create a crisis by having nowhere to take this material."
She said she did not believe that Modesto Tallow planned to relocate in the region. In an October e-mail obtained by The Bee, Modesto City Manager George Britton said a plant owner told him of plans to move "the majority of the operation to Stockton."
The settlement was signed Thursday by Judge Roger Beauchesne in Stanislaus County Superior Court and is expected to be filed today, Tognazzini said.
Ag worries about disposal
The plant was established in 1917 just off Crows Landing Road, in what was then a rural area along the Tuolumne River.
Neighborhoods were later built nearby, and complaints about the odors increased in the 1990s. At times, the smell has drifted over Ceres and downtown Modesto.
Despite the complaints, the plant has been a key part of the region's agriculture, taking in dead dairy and beef cattle, chicken feathers and other animal remains.
"They have to be disposed of in some fashion, and Modesto Tallow, of course, has provided an outlet for those products for years," said Michael Marsh, chief executive officer of Western United Dairymen, based in Modesto.
He said the cost of disposing of dead livestock could rise if other rendering companies do not have excess capacity.
Ray Souza, who operates a dairy in the Turlock area, agreed.
"It's going to create some issues," he said. "These types of plants play a real crucial role in our operations."
Souza's herd numbers about 1,200. Over a normal year, he said, 2 percent to 3 percent of those animals die. The deaths can rise dramatically if a communicable disease such as hoof-and-mouth infects a herd, he said.
"Under the law, I can't bury a dead animal myself," Souza said, "and I can't burn these animals."
The county's other renderers are Darling International, four miles northeast of the community of Crows Landing, and Sisk Tallow, four miles southwest of Turlock.
"They haven't had near the problem as Modesto Tallow, but it is surrounded by schools and houses," said county Supervisor Tom Mayfield, chairman of the air district board. "That was probably a mistake, made years and years ago."
Rendering plants turn out raw material for animal feed and leather goods. They also produce tallow, a refined fat used in soap, ink, glue, explosives and a variety of other products.
County Supervisor Jim DeMartini said he had mixed feelings about the Modesto Tallow closure.
"It will sure make life better in the Shackelford area, but it creates problems for ag," he said. "Part of me is glad to see it close down, but the bigger part is how it will affect agriculture."
Former county Supervisor Paul Caruso, who runs a shopping center on Crows Landing Road, said he was concerned about the closure's impact on agriculture but glad that it is happening.
"Wow!" he said upon hearing of the shutdown. "There have been people fighting that since I was raised here (beginning) in 1947. It's wonderful news for the community."
Caruso said he met with air district officials two years ago and was told that resolving the problem could take two or three years.
"The company did not perform," he said. "They broke promises. They always denied they really had a problem. They would violate rules and county regulations and then refuse to pay (fines). They dragged their feet on the timelines we had set up. In the end, they did it to themselves."
Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at 578-2385 or jholland@modbee.com.
Bee staff writers Blair Craddock, Michael G. Mooney and Tim Moran contributed to this report.
Rendering plant, air district agree to closing date of Dec. 31, 2006
By JOHN HOLLAND
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: December 9, 2005, 04:15:10 AM PST
Modesto Tallow Co., long criticized for the foul odors drifting from its plant, will shut down by the end of next year, officials said Thursday.
The owners of the south Modesto plant agreed to stop rendering livestock carcasses and to phase out other operations by Dec. 31, 2006, under a settlement with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
The news brought relief to parents at Shackelford Elementary School, which has sat less than 1,000 feet from the plant since 1948.
"When the kids go out to play, it smells just terrible," said Esmeralda Avila as she picked up daughters Vanessa, 5, and Cassandra, 4, on Thursday afternoon. "It's good that they'll be able to breathe pure air."
The announcement, while cheered by the plant's critics, raised concern in farming circles about whether other rendering plants could fill the gap.
The air district sought the shutdown in a lawsuit filed in August. It followed years of odor complaints and efforts to fix the problem at the 88-year-old plant.
"We regret that closure of the operation became our only option," Bill Shirley, an executive with the plant's parent company in Texas, said in a district news release announcing the settlement.
He could not be reached for further comment. Plant co-owner Jeff Podesto, whose family operated it for decades, referred inquiries to the Texas company.
The plant employed about 65 people as of Thursday, the news release said.
"It is unfortunate that jobs will be lost, but it has been a long-standing nuisance for the neighborhood," said Catherine Tognazzini, assistant counsel for the district.
Phased closure prevents 'crisis'
The settlement allows the plant to process chicken feathers until May 3, as long as it installs improved odor controls.
It also allows operation through 2006 of a "transfer station" for restaurant grease and for trimmings from slaughterhouses and butcher shops, Tognazzini said. These remains can stay at the plant for up to 24 hours before being shipped to other rendering plants, she said.
Tognazzini said the closure is in phases because "we didn't want to create a crisis by having nowhere to take this material."
She said she did not believe that Modesto Tallow planned to relocate in the region. In an October e-mail obtained by The Bee, Modesto City Manager George Britton said a plant owner told him of plans to move "the majority of the operation to Stockton."
The settlement was signed Thursday by Judge Roger Beauchesne in Stanislaus County Superior Court and is expected to be filed today, Tognazzini said.
Ag worries about disposal
The plant was established in 1917 just off Crows Landing Road, in what was then a rural area along the Tuolumne River.
Neighborhoods were later built nearby, and complaints about the odors increased in the 1990s. At times, the smell has drifted over Ceres and downtown Modesto.
Despite the complaints, the plant has been a key part of the region's agriculture, taking in dead dairy and beef cattle, chicken feathers and other animal remains.
"They have to be disposed of in some fashion, and Modesto Tallow, of course, has provided an outlet for those products for years," said Michael Marsh, chief executive officer of Western United Dairymen, based in Modesto.
He said the cost of disposing of dead livestock could rise if other rendering companies do not have excess capacity.
Ray Souza, who operates a dairy in the Turlock area, agreed.
"It's going to create some issues," he said. "These types of plants play a real crucial role in our operations."
Souza's herd numbers about 1,200. Over a normal year, he said, 2 percent to 3 percent of those animals die. The deaths can rise dramatically if a communicable disease such as hoof-and-mouth infects a herd, he said.
"Under the law, I can't bury a dead animal myself," Souza said, "and I can't burn these animals."
The county's other renderers are Darling International, four miles northeast of the community of Crows Landing, and Sisk Tallow, four miles southwest of Turlock.
"They haven't had near the problem as Modesto Tallow, but it is surrounded by schools and houses," said county Supervisor Tom Mayfield, chairman of the air district board. "That was probably a mistake, made years and years ago."
Rendering plants turn out raw material for animal feed and leather goods. They also produce tallow, a refined fat used in soap, ink, glue, explosives and a variety of other products.
County Supervisor Jim DeMartini said he had mixed feelings about the Modesto Tallow closure.
"It will sure make life better in the Shackelford area, but it creates problems for ag," he said. "Part of me is glad to see it close down, but the bigger part is how it will affect agriculture."
Former county Supervisor Paul Caruso, who runs a shopping center on Crows Landing Road, said he was concerned about the closure's impact on agriculture but glad that it is happening.
"Wow!" he said upon hearing of the shutdown. "There have been people fighting that since I was raised here (beginning) in 1947. It's wonderful news for the community."
Caruso said he met with air district officials two years ago and was told that resolving the problem could take two or three years.
"The company did not perform," he said. "They broke promises. They always denied they really had a problem. They would violate rules and county regulations and then refuse to pay (fines). They dragged their feet on the timelines we had set up. In the end, they did it to themselves."
Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at 578-2385 or jholland@modbee.com.
Bee staff writers Blair Craddock, Michael G. Mooney and Tim Moran contributed to this report.