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Owner submits cleanup plan for grease site

The owner of a defunct grease disposal plant where a storage lagoon caught fire in 2007 submitted a plan to clean up the Talmo site, though his company's bankruptcy may keep him from finishing the job.

A Jackson County judge in June gave Agri-Cycle owner Richard Harville until Wednesday to submit a cleanup plan to the state Environmental Protection Division, and he turned in the five-page document to the court and to EPD officials two days early.

"We will review as expeditiously as we can," said Dominic Weatherill, manager of the EPD's industrial wastewater unit.

Agri-Cycle, which recycled grease from restaurants and chicken plants at its 86-acre site, closed after a malfunctioning pump ignited a settling pond filled with greasy water Sept. 5, 2007.

Shortly after the fire, Jackson County Superior Court Judge David Motes ordered Harville to close the plant and file a closure plan with the EPD. However, Harville never filed a plan and the EPD asked Motes in March to declare him in contempt. Motes gave Harville until July 28 to turn in the plan.

EPD officials and Harville will be back in court Aug. 19, when Motes will decide whether the plan fulfills Agri-Cycle's legal obligations.

Harville filed bankruptcy on behalf of Agri-Cycle and has said in the past that the company has no money left to clean up the site, which sits at 1180 Main St., right outside the Talmo city limit.

He spent about $10,

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