By Susan Redden

Globe Staff Writer

CARTHAGE, Mo. - Renewable Environmental Solutions has agreed to pay $100,000 in civil penalties for violating state odor laws, under a judgment announced Tuesday by the company and the office of Jay Nixon, Missouri attorney general.

The company also agreed to pay $25,000 each for any future odor violations over the next two years as part of the judgment approved Tuesday by Jasper County Circuit Judge David Dally.

The consent judgment resolves a lawsuit Nixon filed in January to seek penalties for past violations from RES, which converts turkey parts into biofuels. The action has no impact on a public-nuisance lawsuit filed against the company by the attorney general and the city of Carthage.

"That's a policy decision for the City Council, but I haven't noticed anyone on the council anxious to see that suit dismissed, after the city and the community lived with the problem for so long," said David Mouton, city attorney. He called the consent judgment in the case "good work on behalf of the attorney general's office."

"I understand it's one of the most substantial fines ever obtained in any nuisance litigation," he said. "It's a recognition of the serious, long-term nature of what happened here."

An announcement from Nixon's office called the penalties the largest amount ever obtained in Missouri for an odor case. The $25,000 in penalties that RES agrees to pay for any future citations is 2 1/2 times the maximum penalty normally allowed under Missouri air-conservation law.

"These odors have had a significant impact on the quality of life for many Carthage residents," Nixon said. "The record penalty we are obtaining from RES - and the prospect of large penalties for any future violations - will go a long way to ensure compliance. My office will continue to closely monitor this situation, and we will continue to use our legal resources to protect area residents."

A statement issued on behalf of the company said that RES is admitting no liability, and that the judgment acknowledges that the more than $3 million the plant has spent since April 2005 represents "considerable efforts and resources" toward odor controls.

"We are extremely pleased to have worked to a mutually satisfactory conclusion with both the state attorney general's office and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, and to put this matter behind us," said Brian S. Appel, managing partner of RES.

The plant was shut down under a Dec. 29, 2005, order issued at the direction of Gov. Matt Blunt, and was allowed to operate under special conditions after it reopened. Tuesday's judgment acknowledges that the order and special conditions are no longer in effect, and that the Missouri DNR authorizes RES to operate in compliance with its permit and all applicable regulations.

The judgment calls for RES to pay civil penalties of $175,000 to the state, with $100,000 due immediately. The remaining $75,000 will be suspended and deferred unless the plant is charged with additional violations of Missouri air-conservation law during the next two years.

RES was cited for six notices of violation under Missouri air-quality laws, the most recent in August 2005.

That doesn't mean there have been no odors since, said Tim Jeffries, who lives less than a mile from the plant and has been a critic of the operation.

"It does still occur; there's no mistaking the odor," he said Tuesday.

Jeffries said he is pleased with the judgment and the penalties "because it will get their attention."

He said he also is pleased that the city has not dropped its public-nuisance lawsuit against the company.

"The lawsuit is an incentive for them to do what they're supposed to do," he said. "It should not be dropped. If we become complacent, the problem will never go away, so we have to use all legal means available to protect the quality of life in Carthage."

Mouton, the city attorney, said the city still gets odor complaints, and that he noticed "a lingering smell" several days last week "that reminded me the city is not that far removed from some fairly serious problems."

He said RES had proposed dismissal of the city's lawsuit several times. "I'm not in a hurry to do that," he said.

The DNR office in Springfield has fielded 16 odor complaints form Carthage residents since May 1, according to Paul Vitzthum, air and solid-waste unit chief for the regional office.

He said none prompted notices of violations from the state, and that some of the odors were traced back to operations other than RES.

Oil production

The RES plant currently is producing 250 to 350 barrels of oil daily from waste turkey parts from the adjacent Butterball turkey plant. The plant is engineered to produce up to 500 barrels a day, at full capacity, according to a statement from the company.