By Andrea Bruner, White River Now
It’s a topic on most residents’ minds — or at least in their noses — and on Tuesday night, Mayor Rick Elumbaugh brought it front and center at the Batesville City Council meeting.
The odor from the city’s two poultry plants, which are also among the largest employers in Independence County, is a longstanding, if sporadic, issue. It’s something citizens routinely comment on and question.
Even city officials are seeking answers.
In 2019, Elumbaugh sent a letter to the plants requesting necessary upgrades to minimize the odor, but, as he said, “It’s been challenging.”
“Over the years, they have made some upgrades, and they have shared some of those with us,” Elumbaugh said. “We know how valuable they are to economic development in our community; they employ a lot of folks, and all we’re asking for is for them to do is be good stewards.”
He said he recently checked with Ozark Mountain Poultry (OMP), now owned by George’s Inc., which stated that two to three years ago, it planned to build a new treatment plant.
But when he spoke Monday with the company’s attorney, the attorney said the volume does not indicate a need for a new treatment plant.
“I text every day there’s a bad day (for the smell), so they’re aware of it,” Elumbaugh said.
The mayor said he has also built a relationship with Peco Foods Inc.
Elumbaugh addressed a misconception that the city provides free water to the poultry plants, which it does not.
Public Works Engineer Damon Johnson said all water customers are charged a minimum price for the first 1,000 gallons based on meter size — with industrial meters being larger than residential ones.
For residential customers, the minimum charge is $13.30 per month, not including sewer, trash, or taxes.
Each poultry plant has an 8-inch meter, and their base charge for the first 1,000 gallons is $2,126.10.
This affects only OMP and Peco. Johnson said Custom Craft Poultry is on the Pfeiffer water system and pays different rates.
Johnson emphasized that all customers inside city limits pay the same rate based on volume. Rates step down as usage increases.
“There is no special rate for anybody. You get a volume discount. The more you use, the more discount you get,” he said.
Only OMP and Peco use more than 2 million gallons per month and receive that particular step-down rate. “Not even the hospital has 2 million gallons of water a month on any individual meter,” Johnson said.
“This rate structure was developed 30 or 40 years ago, and my assumption is that it was set up this way as an incentive for those companies to grow and stay here,” he said.
He noted that similar structures are common in cities with food processing industries, such as Springdale. “Their step-downs might be in other places, of course. Their price per 1,000 is based on their operational expenses and their water sales. There are lots of variables.”
“In terms of conserving natural resources, it sounds like you’re rewarding people for using more,” Alderman Scott Fredricks said.
Johnson responded that companies are required to use a minimum amount of water per bird processed. “So they’re not really allowed to be conservationists,” he said, adding that he is not an expert on poultry processing nor did he know how many birds are processed locally.
He declined to publicly state the number of gallons of water each company uses, citing business confidentiality.
He noted that in the early 2000s, Peco installed a water reuse system but later found it cost-ineffective.
Johnson said changing the rate structure would require another rate study, the most recent of which cost between $100,000 and $150,000.
Alderman Landon Reeves asked whether the city has full autonomy over rate-setting. Johnson said the only oversight comes from Arkansas Act 605, which does not set rates but requires utilities to keep sufficient reserves.
“We need to weigh all the consequences of that, and no matter what anybody says, we do not want those two plants to go away,” Johnson told the council. “So we do not want to act in such an aggressive manner that they go away.”
He said losing the plants would have “serious consequences” for the city’s water utility alone, noting that Batesville broke ground this year on a multimillion-dollar water treatment plant to replace infrastructure from the 1960s.
“That would be detrimental to our community, just from what I manage, not the other things that it would touch,” he said. “We have to work together as a group if they’re willing, and try to make them understand — we need y’all to cooperate and be a team player. Sometimes it’s hard to get through to the corporate mindset of that.”
Elumbaugh agreed.
“Corporate gets a little defensive when you start prying more, but like I said, that’s our obligation. We definitely want them to be a good steward, but we’re investing $25 million across the road from them,” he said. “I’ve met with them, and you won’t find any nicer individuals to work with, but at the end of the day, we have a community that is aggravated, and a lot of times, they feel like we’re not doing enough. But like (Johnson) said, there’s not an EPA regulation.”
Johnson said citizens often ask why the city doesn’t regulate the odor or enforce a nuisance ordinance. Some states, such as Texas, have laws regulating nuisance odors, but Arkansas does not.
Furthermore, Arkansas law prevents municipalities from enacting or enforcing their own air pollution regulations. “When other cities in the state try to do this, they pretty much immediately lose because of this,” Johnson said.
Elumbaugh said that as an agricultural state, Arkansas lawmakers protect the rights of farmers and agri-industries.
Alderman Fred Krug asked which plant causes the odor. Johnson said he believes both are responsible, though each blames the other.
“But you can go to Springdale, and they don’t have that problem,” he said, calling it a “solvable problem … but it’s up to them to do that.”
He said the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality has received many complaints but has found nothing harmful to humans.
“They don’t regulate nuisances — only what they determine to be harmful — when it comes to air pollution,” Johnson said. “So we’re kind of stuck in this weird limbo.”
Alderman Robb Roberts suggested starting with measuring the odor. “Not that you could write a ticket for it, I’m not saying that, but understanding where it’s coming from would be helpful,” he said.
Johnson said the city previously reviewed a proposal for such a study, which would have cost about $150,000, six to eight years ago.
Elumbaugh questioned what action could be taken if one plant was found to be primarily responsible.
Roberts proposed bringing together plant representatives and a trusted community facilitator to discuss the issue — not to solve it in one meeting, but to start.
Alderman Lackey Moody asked what intensifies the odor. Johnson said he believes it’s the sludge handling process. Poultry plants treat their wastewater, which creates a sludge stored in tanks and hauled off-site.
He said air exchanges during this transfer process are likely responsible for the smell, especially in combination with the river’s cool air.
Elumbaugh said another issue is rendering materials being spilled by third-party haulers. Police have been called, and the city has followed up when complaints are received.
Johnson clarified that some materials — like chicken fat and organs — are not allowed in the wastewater system. These are hauled in open-top trucks that occasionally spill their contents on city roads.
“It’s a horrible mess and it stinks,” he said.
—
In other business Tuesday night:
— The council heard the second reading of an ordinance modifying water and sewer service procedures. Johnson emphasized that usage rates are not changing, but procedural clarifications were made. The council waived the third reading and adopted the ordinance with an emergency clause, making it effective immediately.
— The council adopted the city’s Comprehensive Safety Action Plan. From 2018 to 2022, there were 2,422 crashes within city limits, resulting in seven deaths and 43 serious injuries. The plan aims to reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 50% by 2035 and to zero by 2045.
— The council authorized Elumbaugh to apply for a Federal Aviation Administration grant for a geotechnical study and design work for the next phase of runway and taxiway improvements at the Batesville Regional Airport.
— Elumbaugh reported that repairs to the community center swimming pool and therapy pool totaled more than $91,000. The perpetual maintenance account now holds about $686,330.
Alderwomen Brittany Bennett and Julie Hinkle were absent. There were no public or council comments.
Image: White River Now
Have a news tip or event to promote? Email White River Now at news@whiterivernow.com. Be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And don’t forget to download the White River Now mobile app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.
Get up-to-date local and regional news/weather from the First Community Bank Newsroom on Arkansas 103.3 KWOZ every weekday morning and afternoon. White River Now updates are also aired on weekday mornings on 93 KZLE, Outlaw 106.5, and Your FM 99.5. Catch CBS News around the top of every hour on 1340 KBTA.
