03/13/2007

Associated Press

It's been six months since Redmond Tallow Co. closed, and Crook County officials are still seeking a long-tern method of disposing of Central Oregon animal carcasses and byproducts.

The Crook County Landfill got a one-year state permit to accept animal waste and has been taking in about 87,000 pounds, roughly 90 cows' worth, a month.

Now the county is considering spending $700,000 on a machine that chemically condenses and disinfects animal materials. Oregon State University's Crook County Extension Service is helping research the equipment.

"This was kind of an emergency type of permit that we have right now, so we're trying to get it permitted for a full-time operation because there definitely is a need for it," said landfill director Alan Keller.

The machine the county is researching could take 4,000 pounds of animal products at once time and reduce the material to a 1,600-pound solid block sterile of all pathogens including those that can cause mad cow disease.

Now the landfill must bury the animals it accepts in separate pits and charges $5 per animal plus $25 per ton for in-county animals, $30 a ton for outsiders.

When the company said it was closing, environmental officials worried that farmers bury or dump animals in ways that could contaminate water or attract scavengers.

Keller said what people drop off is about half carcasses and half butcher waste.

The extension service also is exploring other possible permanent solutions including composting, a last choice, agents say, because of the smell and location.

Crook County Judge Scott Cooper said he has also heard of interest in opening another private plant, which he called a "preferred alternative" but said land use and environmental regulations could pose problems.

Redmond Tallow closed its rendering facility in October after years of complaints about smells and possible groundwater contamination. The company cooked down carcasses, scraps and restaurant grease into a substance that could be used in animal food.

One of the company's owners, Carl Cacho, still operates a carcass pickup service and said all options remain open for butcher shops and restaurants through companies that truck materials out of state.

But he said out-of-state companies charge about $250 for what Redmond Tallow did for $60.

There had been a rendering facility on the site for more than 70 years. Homes grew up around it and problems appeared.

Charles Cook has lived about 800 feet away from the plant for 13 years.

"What it's like, all of the neighbors will tell you, is disconcerting to say the least," Cook said. "During the week time when they melt down dead rotting animals and carcasses, the air for upwards of at least a half a mile in every direction becomes extremely pungent with the most distasteful odors you could ever imagine."

He said he favors a new plant far enough out so that residential growth does not become a problem.

He said that the process is essential but should be done somewhere else.

Cacho said that when he considered moving the facility a few years ago it would have cost at least $12 million.

If the county buys the $700,000 machine, officials say they will begin seeking state and federal permits and may ask Deschutes County to seek a grant to buy a second machine for the Crook County site.

"If Deschutes County decided not to do that then we may want to limit the intake of material to Crook County residents only, or Deschutes County may want to purchase their own machine and put it at their landfill," said Cooper, the county judge.

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Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com