By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
CARTHAGE, Mo. - Renewable Environmental Solutions has been cited by the state for odor violations.
RES officials were notified Wednesday of the citation, which is the first since the end of lawsuits against the company filed by the city of Carthage and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.
The citation, in connection with odors from the plant on Tuesday, could trigger a $25,000 penalty required by the state lawsuit if the notice of excess emissions is upgraded to a notice of violation, according to Renee Bungart, a public-information officer with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
She said information on the possible penalty under the lawsuit will not be known until the DNR gets an explanation from the plant.
The excess emissions were measured Tuesday night by DNR workers based in Carthage.
"We've talked to them (RES officials), and we're in the process today (Wednesday) of finalizing the notice to them," Bungart said.
The company will have 15 days to respond to the state, providing information on whether the odor was due to start-up or shut-down problems or an equipment malfunction.
"If it does not meet one of those three criteria as required by law, it will be upgraded to a notice of violation," Bungart said. "If it's upgraded, they'll be required to pay a $25,000 penalty. But we need to go through the 15-day period and give them time to respond."
The company agreed to pay $25,000 each for any odor violations that occurred in a two-year period under a judgment announced in late June by the attorney general's office. The judgment noted improvements in odor conditions at the plant after the company spent more than $3 million for a thermal oxidizer and other equipment.
The judgment resolved a lawsuit the state filed in January to seek penalties for past violations from RES, which converts turkey parts into biofuels.
The judgment also called for RES to pay $175,000 in civil penalties, with $100,000 due immediately. The remaining $75,000 was suspended and was to be deferred unless the plant was charged with additional violations of Missouri air-conservation laws during the next two years.
The citation being drafted Wednesday is the first to be levied against the plant since the city and state lawsuits were resolved.
The city of Carthage filed a motion dismissing its lawsuit in late August, two months after the state announced the consent judgment.
Carthage joined with the state in April 2005 in filing the lawsuit.
RES converts byproducts form the adjacent Butterball turkey plant into biofuels and other materials. The plant is engineered to produce up to 500 barrels a day at full capacity.
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RES cited for odor problems
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