Polk County lost its first battle with BS Ranch and Farm, but one county official promised Friday the fight was far from over.
- Magistrate ruled in favor of BS Ranch and Farm
- County failed to meet burden of proof
- County still plans to sue business
The county tried to shut down the soil manufacturing facility last month, accusing the business during a hearing before a Special Magistrate on April 20 of spreading a foul smell in the nearby community.
That magistrate, Nicholas Troiano, ruled against the county, however. Troiano echoed the arguments of BS Ranch and Farm attorney Julie Ball during the hearing, stating the county “has not met the burden of substantiating that the odors came from respondent’s facility," and specifying that "substantiation would require some scientific testing as evidence.”
The magistrate's ruling, which allows BS Ranch and Farm to remain open, isn't sitting well with residents who live near the facility.
"The commissioners are the ones who messed up," said resident Judy Berg, who attended the code violations hearing and said she wasn’t surprised by the ruling. "This should've been investigated a lot more than it was.”
Berg told us the stench, at its peak in December and January, was so unbearable she couldn’t open her windows or go outside.
County Commissioner George Lindsey said he was terribly disappointed with the special magistrate's decision. In particular, Lindsay pointed out one element of the magistrate's opinion that irked him, where Troiano said he found it “incongruous that the petitioner [Polk County] has worked with the respondent [BS Ranch and Farm] for years to get this use approved, and even blessed the use, that now they so quickly want to shut respondent down?”
“I was shocked when I read that in the magistrate’s opinion," said Lindsey. "I don’t know where in the world he got the idea that we were trying to facilitate the disposal of human waste."
"That was never their request. That was never their representation to us," he continued. "Their representation to the board of county commissioners was that they were in the soil manufacturing business. Not the waste disposal business."
Lindsey vowed the county would do a better job next time.
"When they violate the code again, then we will know what we need to do,” said Lindsey. “We will have a better measurement and we will do a better job determining the source."
The commissioner went on to say the county still planned to sue B S Ranch and Farm. Since the county received the special magistrate’s decision less than 24 hours from the scheduled court hearing Friday, he said they decided to postpone filing the suit so the county’s hired attorneys could evaluate the ruling.
For now, Lindsey said the county has since put a moratorium on any more soil manufacturing businesses being allowed to locate in the county. The state's department of Environmental Protection said it plans to continue pursuing action against BS Ranch and Farm, as well, following a warning letter sent May 5 citing more than a dozen possible permit violations.
Calls and messages to Ball and to Brandy Stanton, the President of BS Ranch and Farm, went unanswered.