MONROE - Amidst a growing battle between Bytec Resource Management and residents within the Town of Adams, the Green County Board of Adjustment ruled to postpone its decision on the timeliness of an appeal against a permit issued to Bytec in October.
Court proceedings have advanced between Bytec, a Monroe-based company specializing in liquid waste management and recycling, and seven plaintiffs residing in Adams Township. Three storage tanks located on the corner of County C and Locust Road are the source of the lawsuit.
Special Counsel John Bruce of Schober & Mitchell S.C. in New Berlin was hired by the board after Jim Weber, a part-time resident of Adams Township, filed an appeal against Green County Zoning Administrator Adam Wiegel.
The conduct hearing Wednesday was to address whether Weber filed the appeal within the allotted 30-day window and whether the board had the authority to review it. Within the appeal, Weber requests the board review a conditional use permit issued by Wiegel to Bytec on Oct. 26.
During a court proceeding March 21 as part of the lawsuit, Bytec voluntarily committed to a stay against any development at the site.
Bruce said the board could table its decision and await any future court decision. Dan O'Callaghan of Michael Best Law, who represented Stephan Byrne of Bytec and Gordyle Valley LLC, disagreed.
"These are really very separate questions," O'Callaghan said.
O'Callaghan asked the board to consider the appeal and nuisance lawsuit as individual issues. Attorney Peter Kind of Knoke and Ingebritsen Law Office in Monroe, who is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit and spoke on behalf of Weber, had a different view. He said the issues with the storage tanks overlap and said resolution of the lawsuit would include the appeal.
Contention between Bytec and its neighbors began in August 2013, when Green County approved a third, 2-million-gallon tank along Locust Road. Weber, who owns roughly 700 acres of nearby farmland, is one of the people who believe the tank should not have been approved. Part of the lawsuit argues that when the farmland was sold into the name Gordyle Valley LLC, Byrne should have notified the zoning department within 60 days to renew the conditional use permit but never did.
In July, testimony from 14 people was given during a meeting by the board at the Green County Courthouse. The hearing was held to approve or deny a 1.8-million-gallon tank, and it was struck down after hearing residents' descriptions of diminished quality of life. After this refusal, Wiegel approved a permit application by Byrne to de-commission two tanks on the property and replace them with one tank of equal volume to both on Oct. 26.
Weber said neighbors were shocked when they witnessed the ground prepared for building at a site they were told could not be considered for development within that year. Though Adams Township received notice, local officials do not have to distribute it to residents, Wiegel said.
"We were told nothing," Weber said. "These guys (county officials) look at this as though my neighborhood is full of bad people. I cannot imagine how anyone could feel this way."
Neighbors argue there is a lack of liability insurance, leaving adjoining property owners with no safety net if one of the tanks fails.
Weber said the biggest grievance is the health problems of some nearby residents, who he has heard have been dealing with respiratory problems. He said he believes the problems have been caused by chemicals in the storage tanks. Weber, who splits his time between Adams and Oregon, Wisconsin, said he has noticed after working on his land facing the storage tanks, he'll return to his residence to find his voice gone.
While Byrne has contended in the past that the storage tanks only store cheese factory waste, such as water with whey and other food waste, the business conducts other services, such as cleaning of sewers, digesters, holding tanks, grease traps and industrial ducts. The lawsuit summons and complaint contends that the company, which services Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa, includes bio-waste in its field-spreading products, despite the company's website insistence that only food-processing material is included in the by-product.
"With waste being brought from all over the Midwest, it is impossible to know exactly what is in Bytec's tanks on any given day," the complaint reads. "However, it is clearly more than cheese wash water."
Court proceedings have advanced between Bytec, a Monroe-based company specializing in liquid waste management and recycling, and seven plaintiffs residing in Adams Township. Three storage tanks located on the corner of County C and Locust Road are the source of the lawsuit.
Special Counsel John Bruce of Schober & Mitchell S.C. in New Berlin was hired by the board after Jim Weber, a part-time resident of Adams Township, filed an appeal against Green County Zoning Administrator Adam Wiegel.
The conduct hearing Wednesday was to address whether Weber filed the appeal within the allotted 30-day window and whether the board had the authority to review it. Within the appeal, Weber requests the board review a conditional use permit issued by Wiegel to Bytec on Oct. 26.
During a court proceeding March 21 as part of the lawsuit, Bytec voluntarily committed to a stay against any development at the site.
Bruce said the board could table its decision and await any future court decision. Dan O'Callaghan of Michael Best Law, who represented Stephan Byrne of Bytec and Gordyle Valley LLC, disagreed.
"These are really very separate questions," O'Callaghan said.
O'Callaghan asked the board to consider the appeal and nuisance lawsuit as individual issues. Attorney Peter Kind of Knoke and Ingebritsen Law Office in Monroe, who is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit and spoke on behalf of Weber, had a different view. He said the issues with the storage tanks overlap and said resolution of the lawsuit would include the appeal.
Contention between Bytec and its neighbors began in August 2013, when Green County approved a third, 2-million-gallon tank along Locust Road. Weber, who owns roughly 700 acres of nearby farmland, is one of the people who believe the tank should not have been approved. Part of the lawsuit argues that when the farmland was sold into the name Gordyle Valley LLC, Byrne should have notified the zoning department within 60 days to renew the conditional use permit but never did.
In July, testimony from 14 people was given during a meeting by the board at the Green County Courthouse. The hearing was held to approve or deny a 1.8-million-gallon tank, and it was struck down after hearing residents' descriptions of diminished quality of life. After this refusal, Wiegel approved a permit application by Byrne to de-commission two tanks on the property and replace them with one tank of equal volume to both on Oct. 26.
Weber said neighbors were shocked when they witnessed the ground prepared for building at a site they were told could not be considered for development within that year. Though Adams Township received notice, local officials do not have to distribute it to residents, Wiegel said.
"We were told nothing," Weber said. "These guys (county officials) look at this as though my neighborhood is full of bad people. I cannot imagine how anyone could feel this way."
Neighbors argue there is a lack of liability insurance, leaving adjoining property owners with no safety net if one of the tanks fails.
Weber said the biggest grievance is the health problems of some nearby residents, who he has heard have been dealing with respiratory problems. He said he believes the problems have been caused by chemicals in the storage tanks. Weber, who splits his time between Adams and Oregon, Wisconsin, said he has noticed after working on his land facing the storage tanks, he'll return to his residence to find his voice gone.
While Byrne has contended in the past that the storage tanks only store cheese factory waste, such as water with whey and other food waste, the business conducts other services, such as cleaning of sewers, digesters, holding tanks, grease traps and industrial ducts. The lawsuit summons and complaint contends that the company, which services Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa, includes bio-waste in its field-spreading products, despite the company's website insistence that only food-processing material is included in the by-product.
"With waste being brought from all over the Midwest, it is impossible to know exactly what is in Bytec's tanks on any given day," the complaint reads. "However, it is clearly more than cheese wash water."