Township officials want to meet with Nestle Purina

South Whitehall Township officials will reach out to Nestle Purina PetCare Co. in response to a resident’s complaints about an odor from their processing plant.

Dan Speigel, of Antler Court, said he spoke to the plant manager at the 2050 Pope Road facility and exchanged emails with representatives at the pet food manufacturer’s corporate headquarters in St. Louis in an effort to get his concerns addressed.

“I was told that by the time it was window-opening season they should get something done, now it’s two years deep,” he told the Board of Commissioners on Wednesday.

In a statement Thursday, Purina factory manager Winston Silva said the company has been working to manage odors.

“We respect the concerns of our neighbors and take all feedback seriously,” he said.

At the meeting Wednesday, Chairwoman Christina Tori Morgan said complaints would fall under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Environmental Protection, and would not be handled on the local level.

Nestle, she said, has been “a good partner” with the township, and she suggested bringing the company in for a meeting to discuss the issue “a little deeper.”

Commissioner Glenn Block agreed, and said contacting Nestle would demonstrate that “there is still some concern” over the problem.

Silva, in his statement Thursday, said that since mid-2017, Purina has been “aggressively working to reduce aromas.” He said the company has invested about $2.5 million toward cutting odors.

“Last year we installed new odor reduction technology at the cooking production line and these units have been performing well since mid-2018,” he said. “We also have completed several projects at our water treatment operation over the past year and are in the process of having an engineered, air scrubbing system designed for this operation and installed by end of year. This will have a notable impact on potential odors from our onsite water treatment operation.”

He said the company would continue to look for possible improvements.

Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.