By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

NAPPANEE, Ind. — An Indiana soybean processor is under deadline to solve problems with emissions or risk losing its tax abatement.

Tri-State Crush on April 8 was given 30 days by the Nappanee City Council to correct the situation, during a heavily attended meeting. The action follows complaints from nearby residents like Ashley Lent, who described noise from the plant operating nonstop just 200 feet from her back door as a “constant humming sound.”

She said the noise is not deafening but loud enough to have to speak up to engage in conversation and to cause difficulties in sleeping even with doors and windows closed. She said the odor, compared in some ways to bacon or chicken, is nauseating.

A thin soot-like coating drifting over from the processing soybeans into feed is also left daily on rooftops, automobiles, playground equipment, and pools. Lent said she can’t see out of her smeared windshield unless she goes to a car wash or uses a half-gallon of washer fluid on it.

“When we turn our wipers on, it turns to slime,” she noted.

The complaints date back to last fall when Tri-State Crush took over and expanded the operation. Lent said there were no previous issues except for a slight noise from a plant that operated just a few months a year and dust without the filmy residue.

“I have family that won’t even come to my house anymore for cookouts and things like that,” she said.

Mayor Phil Jenkins said there have also been complaints about respiratory issues. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is in the process of determining if there are any violations of air quality linked to the operation.

“They’re just making sure they’re following all of the environmental guidelines,” he said, adding the particulates seem more of a problem closest to the plant while complaints about noise extend further out by several blocks.

“The residents are, I think, justified in their concerns,” he said.

The tax abatement is coming up for an annual review on May 6. The council can decide whether to extend it another year or withdraw the tax incentives due to non-compliance.

“We will determine at that time if they’ve made progress on what they said they were going to. That will weigh into our decision,” Jenkins said.

He said the company has submitted a plan to reduce particulates and odor at the heavily automated plant through better filtration and enclosed blowers to limit noise. Improved drainage and landscaping is among the other strategies.

“The city is taking it very seriously, but we’re trying to follow our legal steps on how we can address and encourage the company to help out the neighbors,” Jenkins said.

According to the company, the facility accepts soybeans only from organic and non-GMO growers. Steam is part of the chemical-free process of separating the soybean and pushing out the oil.

Its parent company, The Redwood Group, is also a processor of corn, sorghum, wheat, barley, and other farm commodities at locations in the U.S., Canada, and abroad, according to Tri-State Crush. In addition to livestock feed, its products are used in food for human and pet consumption, according to the company.

The Redwood Group is also involved in providing financial energy and logistics solutions in all aspects of the supply chain.