PLATTSMOUTH — Faced with stiff opposition from neighbors, Andy Harpenau has scaled back his plans to expand a composting operation near some of Nebraska’s top tourist attractions.
In March, Harpenau, vice president of Gretna Sanitation Inc., asked the Cass County Board for permission to expand his composting operation from five acres to as many as 20 acres and accept as much as 70,000 cubic yards of food waste annually from area school districts.
Neighbors, mostly residents of nearby Horseshoe Lake, oppose the expansion project because they fear the rotting food would create a stench and attract vermin. They also say a large composting operation would discourage tourism and future development in the scenic area along the Platte River.
Harpenau’s composting operation is adjacent to Wildlife Safari Park and not far from Eugene T. Mahoney State Park and the Strategic Air and Space Museum. Together, the three draw between one million and two million visitors annually.
On Tuesday, Harpenau submitted a compromise proposal, asking for permission to operate a pilot project for one year on his existing five acres and only accept 1,000 cubic yards of food waste, including fruits and vegetables.
“The opposition is so much against us. We want to start small and prove we can process food waste without any adverse effects,” Harpenau said in an interview.
There are about 4,500 compost operations in North America, he said, and only about a half-dozen are problematic. He said one of the keys to keeping such operations odor-free is to not accept dairy or meat waste; another is keeping the composting operations small, therefore, much more manageable.
For years, Harpenau said, Cass County has shipped its garbage to the Sarpy County landfill, which is scheduled to close next year. Waste from Cass and Sarpy counties then will be trucked to the Butler County landfill near David City. He called the practice wasteful and said his composting operation offered a more environmentally friendly solution.
“Cass County has a chance to be responsible for its own waste,” Harpenau told the County Board. “Composting is coming; landfilling is ending. … Cass County cannot afford to keep kicking the can down the road.”
About 50 people, mostly opponents wearing red stickers against a proposed zoning amendment that would allow a commercial composting operation in the area, attended the public hearing. However, after a handful testified, County Board Chairwoman Janet McCartney halted testimony because of Harpenau’s compromise proposal.
McCartney said it would serve no useful purpose to accept testimony for a proposal on a commercial operation when Harpenau plans to pursue a pilot project. Furthermore, another public hearing would have to be held on Harpenau’s amended application for a conditional use permit to allow the composting of food waste on his site.
The board tabled action on the conditional use permit until the public hearing could be scheduled within the next 90 days. Harpenau had not filed the necessary paperwork, yet.
In an interview after the vote, Jesse Jorgensen, a Horseshoe Lake resident, said he was disappointed by the County Board’s action.
Jorgensen said he favored recycling but having a composting operation in the “middle of a tourist sector” is not a good solution to the county’s waste problems.
Composting transforms yard waste and other organic materials naturally into a soil-like product that can be used on gardens and landscaping.
During his presentation, Harpenau said his existing composting site was ideal because the land, which used to be a quarry, is not good for farming. A nearby road creates a buffer zone, and there is only one private landowner abutting his property.
The County Board did approve a zoning change that would allow composting operations of five to 20 acres on agricultural land and prohibit such large operations on land zoned recreational/agricultural.
The area near Interstate 80 exit 426, where Harpenau has his composting operation, is zoned recreational/agricultural.
Harpenau said he did not see the vote as a defeat.
“We’re fine with that,” he said. “All we need is five acres to compost.”
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