By STAN MADDUX

Indiana Correspondent

NAPPANEE, Ind. — An Indiana soybean processor isn’t quite finished addressing complaints from neighbors about noise, odor, and dust, even after meeting a government-imposed deadline to do most of that.

The Nappanee City Council on May 6 renewed its tax abatement for Tri-State Crush after giving the grain milling operation 30 days in April to improve conditions outside the plant. Enclosures placed over blowers to reduce sound and additional filtration to capture more soybean dust generated from processing were among the immediate steps to reduce the impact on nearby residents, said Mayor Phil Jenkins.

The outside blowers transport soybean meal after milling into silos for storage. Jenkins said sound-absorbing material inside the enclosures and landscaping along the perimeter of the operation were also put in to further reduce volume levels from the plant.

“Not that everything is completed, according to the owner, but we have made significant improvement,” he said.

The additional filters remove more of the soybean dust and oil from releases of steam used to separate the bean and push out the oil. “It separates the oil and dust out of that steam, so what’s coming out is just the steam,” he said.

The extra filtration has also reduced odors described by neighbors as “nauseating” and smelling like chicken or bacon, Jenkins said, adding more work such as more enclosures and filtration are planned to improve conditions further.

The council’s renewal was on a seven-year tax abatement granted in February 2018, on $3 million of improvements to the plant the company took over and expanded in the community of fewer than 7,000 residents 30 miles east of South Bend.

Jenkins said he’s not sure if it would be legal to withdraw tax abatement based on complaints from neighbors. He said the renewal has more to do with companies meeting projections in areas like job creation and investment when they seek abatement.

From an economic impact standpoint, Tri-State Crush was found in significant compliance with the returns it forecast. Jenkins said zoning and noise ordinances are relied on more to enforce any negative impacts stemming from operations.

“We kind of used that as a little bit of leverage to make sure the improvements got done in a timely fashion,” he explained.

Ashley Lent, whose back door is just 200 feet south of the plant, said conditions for her have improved only somewhat, while things north of the operation are much better. She said it’s still too noisy to have a normal conversation outside her home, and the settling of soybean dust on her vehicle hasn’t stopped.

The oily dust smears her windshield when she tries wiping it off. She also said her respiratory issues, after improving, have returned.

Jenkins said the plant upgrades were planned by the company for the winter, but extreme temperatures contributed to the delay. He vowed to work with both sides to make sure conditions outside the plant are to everyone’s satisfaction.

“We’ll see,” Lent said, in response.

Several weeks ago, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management collected air samples outside the plant; IDEM was also working with the company on it acquiring an operating permit. Initially, Jenkins said the need for a permit was viewed as borderline, but later deemed necessary due to the size of the heavily automated operation and amount of product.

Tri-State Crush is owned The Redwood Group, a processor of farm commodities like corn, sorghum, wheat, and barley in the United States, Canada, and abroad. Its products are used to feed farm animals and make food for human and pet consumption, according to the parent company.