Cavel only business not up to district standards.
Cavel only business not up to distict standards
By Benji Feldheim - Staff Writer
The Cavel-owned slaughterhouse is the only business regulated by the
DeKalb Sanitary District to have been fined in the past ten years.
Cavel has incurred $31,500 worth of fines since 2004. Penalties have been
given for exceeding limits on the content of animal products in
wastewater, which drain into the Kishwaukee River.
While the contents of the water in question are similar to waste
products made by people in a household, the amount of product in the
water has been the cause of 17 district violations at the Cavel plant
since September.
“It took a while to pinpoint the problems with water treatment,”
said
Jim Tucker, manager of the Cavel plant. “We found in mid-2005 that we
would need a new system, and between designs, testing and finally the
actual building of a new pre-treating system, it took many people's
input and a lot of time to build it and then run it effectively.”
According to Tucker, some consultants hired to help solve the
wastewater
problem suggested paying the city more money to treat it themselves, a
practice of meatpacking plants in larger cities. The DeKalb Sanitary
District, however, requires all businesses with water permits to
pre-treat their wastewater before it comes to their facility to be
filtered again before it goes into the river.
The plant has been given until May 31 to be operating within discharge
limits established by the sanitary district without further sanctions.
Representatives of Cavel assured the district that a rebuilt water
treatment system will be working by the end of March. The new $550,000
pre-treater has run successfully for the last two weeks, Tucker said.
“If by the end of May they are still not within our standards, we
will
consider revoking their permit,” said sanitary district president
Michael Zima. “Within our guidelines, we can only shut them down if
they
violate our wastewater standards.”
According to Zima, if the treatment system isn't working by the end of
March, the district will consider enacting fines during the time period
they agreed to not fine Cavel.
“We are giving them until the end of May for full compliance with the
water content because a new system usually has bugs and kinks to work
out,” said sanitary district board of trustees president Dennis
Collins.
Benji Feldheim can be reached at bfeldheim@daily-chronicle.com
By Benji Feldheim - Staff Writer
The Cavel-owned slaughterhouse is the only business regulated by the
DeKalb Sanitary District to have been fined in the past ten years.
Cavel has incurred $31,500 worth of fines since 2004. Penalties have been
given for exceeding limits on the content of animal products in
wastewater, which drain into the Kishwaukee River.
While the contents of the water in question are similar to waste
products made by people in a household, the amount of product in the
water has been the cause of 17 district violations at the Cavel plant
since September.
“It took a while to pinpoint the problems with water treatment,”
said
Jim Tucker, manager of the Cavel plant. “We found in mid-2005 that we
would need a new system, and between designs, testing and finally the
actual building of a new pre-treating system, it took many people's
input and a lot of time to build it and then run it effectively.”
According to Tucker, some consultants hired to help solve the
wastewater
problem suggested paying the city more money to treat it themselves, a
practice of meatpacking plants in larger cities. The DeKalb Sanitary
District, however, requires all businesses with water permits to
pre-treat their wastewater before it comes to their facility to be
filtered again before it goes into the river.
The plant has been given until May 31 to be operating within discharge
limits established by the sanitary district without further sanctions.
Representatives of Cavel assured the district that a rebuilt water
treatment system will be working by the end of March. The new $550,000
pre-treater has run successfully for the last two weeks, Tucker said.
“If by the end of May they are still not within our standards, we
will
consider revoking their permit,” said sanitary district president
Michael Zima. “Within our guidelines, we can only shut them down if
they
violate our wastewater standards.”
According to Zima, if the treatment system isn't working by the end of
March, the district will consider enacting fines during the time period
they agreed to not fine Cavel.
“We are giving them until the end of May for full compliance with the
water content because a new system usually has bugs and kinks to work
out,” said sanitary district board of trustees president Dennis
Collins.
Benji Feldheim can be reached at bfeldheim@daily-chronicle.com