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.”

MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA–(Marketwired – May 14, 2013) – Yes, there are solutions to the water pollution created by parking lot runoff that winds its way through drainage systems, rivers, lakes, canals, and, at some point, into our water glasses. Water contamination has to be tackled at the source – in the parking lots themselves – and one of the answers to the problem can be with the addition of rain gardens and self-sustaining landscaping.

A TV short aired by the Knowledge Network in April 2013 described the problem and its management very well: our waterways are becoming increasingly polluted with oil, gas, anti-freeze, toxic cleaners, paint, and other chemicals that accumulate in parking lots, construction sites, and streets; as well as with fertilizers and pesticides used to enhance landscaping.

The TV cameras zeroed in on concerned citizens who had learned about the benefits of rain gardens to help control water pollution and were introducing the concept in the Seattle, Washington, community of North Ridge, with the goal of constructing 12,000 such gardens. Many other communities across the country are becoming involved in similar programs as citizens learn that rain gardens help manage storm water runoff and can protect our water sources.

“We offer our clients rain garden landscaping in an effort to help them reduce water pollution from parking lot runoff and to help absorb overflow after a storm,” said Gina Vella, President, Universal Site Services. “I think it’s wonderful that so many people are becoming involved in the management of storm water runoff.”

Rain gardens are shallow depressions about 12 or more inches deep filled with compost that will collect and filter storm water and parking lot runoff so that the water is cleaned naturally. As well, the rain gardens are landscaped with attractive vegetation, which grows well in the composted-enhanced, nutrient-rich soil.

“We calculate the size and number of rain gardens needed to support the runoff from parking lot surfaces and the best location for them,” Mrs. Vella added, “and our company specializes in providing self-sustaining, native vegetation to reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides so that we don’t add to the pollution problem.

Plant species native to an area are self-sustaining because they have a natural protection against local weather conditions and insect infestations. Exotic, non-native plants usually require the protection of herbicides and fertilizers for survival.

Companies that landscape their parking lots with well-placed rain gardens covered with native plants provide three-way protection for the community: the rain gardens filter toxins from runoff, diminish overflow after heavy storms, and reduce the amount of herbicides and fertilizers that are washed into our water.

It’s one of the easier solutions to the problem of parking lot runoff.

About Universal Site Services

Universal Site Services is a full service property maintenance and site services company serving clients in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Founded in 1958, Universal is one of the largest family-owned, full-service outdoor maintenance companies on the West Coast. Universal was one of the inventors of the regenerative air parking lot sweeper. Services include parking lot sweeping pressure washing, day porter, landscaping, property maintenance and graffiti removal. For more information about Universal, please visit www.universalsiteservices.com or call: 800-647-9337.

Traven Pelletier, owner of Bloom! And Elemental Design, took ownership of the 3.5-acre property in January, according to the story.

According to Concentrate, Bloom! carries locally grown flowers, trees and shrubs. They will also have a booth from White Lotus Farms, which will sell fresh goat cheese, breads and produce.

• Read the full story from Concentrate.