City animal carcass program in jeopardy

Rule changes may force Sundance to call time on its dead animal waste composting program, the council heard last week. At the request of Council Member Joe Wilson, representatives from the DEQ will be asked to visit Sundance to clarify its rules and discuss options for the city.

Public Works Director Mac Erickson explained the problem at Tuesday’s meeting of the council: the DEQ now wants dead animal waste to be placed on an impervious surface and the leachate collected and taken either to the lagoon or a lined pond. The new rules are not completely clear and appear to have been created in response to the growing problem of Chronic Wasting Disease, he said.

Until now, said Erickson, the city has been operating under its cease-and-transfer permit and the rules that were in place when that permit was granted. Once the new construction and debris pit is authorized, however, it will become necessary to meet the regulations that have since come into effect – including the stricter rules for dead animal waste.

Wilson expressed annoyance that the composting program was set up under the guidelines provided by the DEQ and has been operated accordingly. He questioned why Sundance’s long-time meat processing business should be put in jeopardy by rule changes that have never been properly explained.

Erickson agreed that the goal posts have continued to move. For example,

the DEQ has never actually told the city what should be done with the waste once it has been covered in chips and left for six months, as required.

The city and C&A Meats should not be forced to deal with the fallout of the rule changes, Wilson said.

“I see this being very expensive with everything up in the air the way it is,” he stated.

Wilson stated his position that the council should support C&A Meats, which represents one of Sundance’s industries and brings income to the city – not just from its own business but from the knock-on effect of attracting hunters, ranchers and other visitors to visit town and make use of other businesses while they are here.

If the city is unable to meet the new standards, said Erickson, the city will need to haul dead animal waste either to Gillette, at an estimated cost of $100 per ton, or Moorcroft, at an estimated $60 per ton.

Wilson expressed his opinion that the council needs to get this straightened out and should hear directly from the DEQ what the new rules entail and how the city can meet them. He suggested inviting DEQ representatives to attend an upcoming meeting so that the council can figure out what to do about the construction and debris pit permitting and what to advice C&A Meats.