HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93011_1126 (2)energy intensive and contributed to pollution. Gray said rendering was an option that
recycled carcasses into safe, useful by-products (meat and bone meal, animal fat, paints,
and plastics). He said composting was becoming more popular, but his operation had
used LeaWay for 20 years -- no other method had been used. Gray said state
regulations required that animal burials be 300 ft. away from streams, and the carcasses
had to be covered with three feet of matter. He said the members of the Soil and Water
Conservation Board and the state veterinarian were in favor of the rendering method.
Steven Lea (applicant) said Iredell County had approximately 50,000 beef and
dairy cattle. He said this was the largest concentration per county in the state. Lea said
since 1979, his company had helped to recycle dead animals, at no cost to the county or
state. He said the company was under strict regulations from the United States Dept. of
Agriculture and the North Carolina Dept. of Agriculture, and LeaWay was an approved
collection site. Lea said that with BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or mad
cow disease) that operational guidelines changed almost daily thereby requiring
companies to change, and this was the reason for the expansion. He said at present,
47.5% of the total monthly production had to be truck transported, three times a week,
offsite for processing. Lea said this was about 16,625 lbs. per week. He said that with
the addition, his company would be able to process all raw materials in an enclosed
facility before shipment. Lea said the proposed expansion was to process existing
material -- not additional material. He said LeaWay could not be compared to the
Tyson facility in Harmony. Lea said Tyson processed about 10 million lbs. of material
per week compared to LeaWay's 16,625 lbs. per week. He said Tyson Foods would
process in one day more than what LeaWay would do in a year's time. He said Tyson
had a wastewater treatment plant, and this was primarily where the odors originated.
Lea said his facility would hold wastewater in a 5,000 gallon enclosed storage tank, and
it would be taken to the plant on Bell Road for treatment. He said this would not
generate any odors. In addition, he said the expansion would require only one new
employee. Lea said the building was much larger than required for the new equipment.
He said all material would be stored inside so the air could be treated before released to
the atmosphere; thus no impact to the community or property values. Lea said the
expansion could not be considered an industrial complex as some in opposition had
mentioned, rather it was an essential improvement to the current operation where no
complaints had been lodged in 27 years. He said his door was always open, and he was
available to meet with anyone about the current or proposed operation. Mr. Lea asked
the board members to consider the impact if there wasn't a livestock removal service for
the county's agricultural community.
Rick EaElin (advocate), the President of the ANCO-Eaglin Company located in
Greensboro, NC, a manufacturer of rendering equipment, said he had evaluated
LeaWay's proposal to handle the material in-house rather than trucking it off-site.
Eaglin said Mr. Lea had requested an environmentally sound system, and a "closed
system" was being proposed due to no vapors escaping from it along with having a
room air scrubber as an additional method to treat any odors. He said other states had
lenient rendering requirements. Eaglin said his company had outfitted a comparable
facility in Canton, Ohio with a scrubber for the vapors. He said Mr. Lea had requested
additional equipment to insure the "best available technology" for his facility.
Commissioner Williams mentioned the Ohio facility. He asked if this was the
closest company that Mr. Eaglin had assisted.
Eaglin said it was the closest "comparable" installation. He said compared to
Tyson Foods, the LeaWay Company was "very small." Eaglin said the Ohio facility
was comparable to LeaWay due to it being a cooker operation.
Commissioner Robertson asked about the process -- muscle tissue removed from
the carcass.
Lea said this was correct, and the tissue was boxed, frozen, labeled, and shipped
to the Greyhound Tracks in Florida as pet food.