Planners revoke recycling facility’s permit

LOWELL — USA Metal Recycling can’t operate its Lowell facility until it complies with city code and gets another conditional use permit.

The city’s Planning Commission revoked the company’s permit Monday, ordering it to cease operations.

Two months after being found in violation of its permit, USA Metal Recycling still had not taken action in cooperation with local and state agencies, complied with city code or clearly defined fire lanes on its property, which Commissioner Brian Clark called “a clear and present danger to our citizens.”

Commissioners unanimously voted to revoke the permit. Darrin Brock was absent.

USA Metal Recycling, formerly called Lowell Iron & Metal, will have to reapply for a new conditional use permit before it can resume business operations.

Tom Smith with USA Metal said Monday he would appeal the commission’s decision to the City Council.

Clark said it seemed like the day-to-day work of the business was getting in the way of it meeting deadlines set by the commission.

“We’ve given some pretty definite deadlines. So has ADEQ,” said Karen Davis, city development director, referring to the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality.

Work on some of the tasks ordered by the commission at its Sept. 8 meeting did not seem to begin until days before the Monday deadline, according to city Special Services Director Richard Stone. Stone visited the property Sept. 16, Sept. 29 and Monday to observe any progress made by the business.

The late start seemed to communicate USA Metal Recycling wasn’t committed to meeting the deadlines, Commissioner Michael Phillips said.

The business worked hard to get the work done but ran out of time, according to Smith.

USA Metal has been under scrutiny by city officials and other agencies in the past following complaints of explosions, noise and smells believed to be coming from the facility. Multiple fires have been reported at the facility over the years.

In a February 2012 letter, the Planning Commission warned it would revoke USA Metal’s conditional use permit if it did not operate within the bounds of the permit, which included limitations on hours of operation, noise, hazardous materials, retail sales and lighting on the property.

The conditional use permit granted to the business at 721 S. Lincoln St. on July 20, 2009, allowed recycling of metal, but not other materials, which were documented at the scene of a recent fire at 317 Commercial Ave. The site on Commercial Avenue was being used to dump debris from Smith’s construction company, Redline Contractors, according to a Sept. 8 letter from Davis to the Planning Commission.

Plastics, cardboard, rubber, batteries, trash and construction debris were all documented at the site, according to a report by the Fire Department. Large piles of debris blocked fire crews’ access to the fire, the report states.

Lowell firefighters arrived at the site of the fire at 5:31 p.m. Aug. 2 and left just after midnight, according to the report. During the event, runoff containing pollutants entered the city stormwater system and was eventually diverted to a city-owned detention pond.

“Due to the color and sheen on the water, I called for the Rogers Fire Department to send their hazmat suits to the scene to try and control the outflow of water from the complex,” Jamie Baggett, deputy fire chief, stated in the report.

The city ordered the business to halt operations Aug. 5, stating records from the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment showed USA Metal recorded construction materials at 721 S. Lincoln St. and reported a “change of business” to a construction demolition recycling facility in 2016.

The business’ conditional use permit never allowed materials like construction debris at the site, according to the cease and desist letter.

The Planning Commission on Aug. 10 unanimously approved ordering the business to follow the conditional use permit, cleanup construction and demolition debris at the site within a week and comply with state regulations to remediate the water in the pond.

The commission voted on Sept. 8 to recommend extending the conditional use permit with conditions through Monday, giving the business a list of required actions. City staff at the time recommended revoking the permit if the business did not cooperate by the commission’s Monday meeting.

The list of actions ordered by the commission at the September meeting included moving all equipment and debris used for the business of USA Metal at Commercial Avenue to the property of USA Metal; cooperating with the city’s stormwater management department to stabilize dirt mounds; cleaning up the site until it is in compliance with city code; cooperating with the Fire Department to clearly define fire lanes with permanent barriers; properly storing liquids in barrels and tires under a covered area; and removing liquids from the property each month.

As of Tuesday, USA Metal had moved all its equipment and debris onto its own property and communicated with the stormwater management department, but did not show completion of any of the other tasks, according to Stone.