Southeast Austin Residents Concerned About Planned Grease Processing Plant

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX -- Residents in Southeast Austin are concerned about plans for a grease processing facility moving into their neighborhood -- its smells, ensuing bolstered traffic and proximity to a school, according to a media report.

Liquid Environmental Solutions is finalizing plans to construct a facility at 7005 Burleson, company officials told KXAN-TV. The plant will be located near Smith Elementary School in the Del Valle ISD and less than a quarter-mile from the Colorado Crossing subdivision, the station noted.

Company officials assure they will work hard to be good neighbors, but residents aren't assuaged.

"We don't need any more giant trucks rolling down that street," Colorado Crossing resident Kalinda Howe told the news station.

The plant refines organic grease, primarily from restaurants, by separating water from grease, sending the treated water into the city's wastewater system and taking ht remaining grease to site in Houston and Dallas, officials explained to KXAN. The planned facility will replace an outdated plant on East 7th Street, the station reported.

“Our company is founded on care for the environment and doing the right thing,” Jeff Thompson, regional director of environmental policy for the company, told KXAN. “We don’t want to cause any issues, but there are realities to our business. The City of Austin needs us to work there, or it would be a huge problem.”

Thompson conceded there would be about 32 truck trips each day, but most would occur in the middle of the night.

But the residents' concerns about the smells associated with a grease plant may be valid. KXAN found three instances of odor complaints against the East Austin facility filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. One February 2014 complaint detailed how the area smelled like sewage.

Thompson assured the site will have a so-called closed-loop system that never leaves the grease exposed, thus mitigating the odor, he told the station.

“We don’t want to wait until someone complains about a smell, before we do something,” he told the station.

Company officials staged a public meeting with residents on Thursday at Smith Middle School to discuss the facility with residents.

Read the full story at KXAN >>

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