|
"Last Thursday, we had an open discussion, and he (Brule) was
willing to work with us. We have to compromise."
Clarence Volk
Grand Forks County residents and the owner of a trucking company
made short work of the County Commissioners' agenda Tuesday.
Residents north of Grand Forks and a man who wants to spread sugar
beet tailings and pulp on land near them decided to compromise.
Residents said they wouldn't fight a special-use permit if their
concerns were addressed.
The issue up for discussion was the special-use permit for Thomas
Brule, owner of Thomas Brule Trucking LLC and a Gentilly, Minn.,
farmer, to spread sugar beet tailings and pulp on land north of Grand
Forks in Ferry Township.
Brule has a contract with American Crystal Sugar Co. to transport
pulp and tailings. Some of the material is fed to cattle; the
remainder is spread on land and plowed under.
Voted out, in
The County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended in an earlier
meeting that the County Commission approve the permit. But the
commission voted against it after hearing from residents in the area
who are worried about the potential odor, flies and traffic associated
with the tailings and pulp. Then the commission, after hearing
comments from cattle producers who were concerned that they wouldn't
be able to have Brule haul tailings and pulp to their farms for cattle
feed, decided to grant the special-use permit.
Middle ground
At Tuesday's meeting, residents and Brule told the commission they
had met last week and talked the issue through. The residents said
they would not fight Brule's special-use permit. In return, Brule
would not spread any more tailings and pulp on the 140-acre site near
their homes until next fall and would plow it under before the ground
freezes. He already has spread the material on 20 acres of the site,
and residents said they would be monitoring that area.
Under a previous commission ruling, Brule would have been allowed
to spread the material on the land in the winter and plow it under in
the spring.
"Last Thursday, we had an open discussion, and he (Brule) was
willing to work with us," said Clarence Volk, who lives about two
miles from the 140-acre site and is a mediator at Grand Forks Air
Force Base. "We have to compromise."
Brule said he was about ready to give up on the special-use permit.
But, he said, "I am confident in my work." |