TURNER COUNTY BOARD FINDS ‘SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE’ OF DPS NON-COMPLIANCE
By a unanimous vote, the five-member Turner County Board of Adjustment has found Dakota Protein Solutions (DPS) in violation of the conditional use permit granted by the board on Sept. 4, 2021.
The action came the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 23 inside the Parker Community Building, where more than 70 residents — mostly from the larger Freeman community — gathered for the hearing.
Additional action is expected at the board’s next regular meeting Tuesday, Oct. 21 starting at 6:30 p.m., and could range from a period of probation, amended conditions, or the revoke of the permit, therefore shutting down the rendering plant that opened just southeast of Freeman a year ago.
Tuesday night, after hearing about 30 minutes of public testimony; the presentation of three non-compliance issues documented and cited by Turner County Zoning Administrator Daisy Johnson; and a response from DPS officials, the board of adjustment found substantial evidence that the rendering plant was in violation of:
- Failure to establish a road agreement with both Turner County and Childstown Township;
- Failure to maintain dust control twice annually, and;
- Outdoor storage of dead stock.
Turner County officials acknowledged that the road haul agreement had been completed; Johnson said she received paperwork prior to the start of the meeting.
And DPS representatives said that a schedule will be established for dust control going forward — the first application came last month — and that all carcasses that come onto the property will be covered and stored for no more than 24 hours, per state statues.
But Turner County State’s Attorney Katelynn Hoffman told the board of adjustment that these violations could have been addressed years earlier and made a strong case for the non-compliance issue to be approved.
“Those conditions were happily accepted by DPS at the time (of the conditional use permit being granted),” Hoffman said. “The board was advised that DPS would be a good neighbor, that they would have a better run facility than perhaps previous owners did, that they would work to minimize odors, (and) ensure upkeep of roads. Based on those assurances, you guys set conditions, and based on the evidence that was provided to you today, I do not believe that Dakota Protein Solutions has met that standard that they essentially set for themselves.”
Hoffman continued:
“If the argument now is that DPS has become compliant … they’re essentially saying, ‘Well, we weren’t in compliance, but we are now, so forgive us.’ If that were the case it renders our ordinance and the conditional use process moot,” she concluded. “Under that scenario, essentially all a permit holder has to do is get the permit, act any way they want, be put on notice of a violation, and then clean up their act in that short time … kind of a, do whatever you want and ask for forgiveness later.”
This is a developing story.
