The Lion’s
October, 2004
Dallas Crown and city await test results
By Tracy Hagler, Managing Editor
Dallas Crown, Inc. has been operating as a horse slaughtering plant in
the city of
“Personally, yes, I do have a problem with horse slaughter and I do
have a problem with the inhumanity of it all, and if
it was a necessity, even then, it would be inhumane,” Paula Bacon,
Mayor of Kaufman, said. “But
that’s personal, and I can’t go with that.
What I do consider though is, as mayor, it’s my responsibility to look
out for the city and taxpayers.”
In the state of
According to the Texas Agricultural Code, Chapter 149, Section 002, “A
person commits an offense if: (1) the person sells, offers for sale, or exhibits
for sale horsemeat as food for human consumption; or (2) the person possesses
horsemeat with the intent to sell the horsemeat for human consumption.”
One might wonder, therefore, why Dallas Crown has operated for so long.
But, for Kaufman, the issue has more to do with the sewer system than it
does with the legality of horse slaughter.
The city’s concern is that Dallas Crown is continually out of
compliance with the city’s industrial wastewater ordinance, stated Director of
Public Works, Richard Underwood in a letter to Dallas Crown.
This ordinance, Section 106-124, allows the city to issue a permit by
approving authority if “The applicant’s pretreatment facilities are adequate
for efficient treatment of discharged waste and
comply with the limits of this division.”
The city may also deny or suspend a permit if the applicant is “not
qualified under section 106-124.” Testing
is done based on BOD levels, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, a measure of the amount
of oxygen that bacteria will consume while decomposing organic matter under
aerobic conditions. Normal
wastewater is 200 BOD but their permit allows Dallas Crown to exceed normal
levels up to 2,000 mg. per day. If
the level is above that, the city fines Dallas Crown up to a maximum of $2,000
per day.
“It’s all about how you do the test, who does the test, and when it
is done,” Jim Bradshaw, a Dallas Crown leader in coordinating a defense, said.
“We just want to be a good neighbor.”
According to obtained city records, from
Dallas Crown is located at
“Often times the gates are open and you can see the hides piled up in
the containers and you can see the offal,” said Bacon.
“And the smell is just awful.”
The “offal” is composed of fatty tissue, blood, bones, necks, heads,
and other unused remains. This is
causing the sewer treatment plant to work extra hard to correct the polluted
buildup.
“The Mayor of Kaufman has taken it upon herself to shut them down,”
Bradshaw said. “She has become one
of the adamant opponents charging Dallas Crown with polluting the water and the
sewer system.”
The citizens of Kaufman share the same sewer system, as do the businesses
of Kaufman.
“The sewer system is the city’s responsibility, not ours,” Bradshaw
said. “They are supposed to
provide us a sufficient sewer system as well as the city.”
The intentions of Dallas Crown are to slaughter only horses that are ill
or injured, and just in poor health.
“It’s a simple answer to a necessary evil,” Bradshaw said.
The cost of disposing a horse is between $800-$1,200.”
The issue isn’t just about the slaughtering itself; it’s the overall
effect it is having on the sewer.
“I don’t care if they’re slaughtering chickens or cows or what
they’re slaughtering,” Bacon said. “When
it has that effect on the sewer it’s a problem.”
Dallas Crown is often criticized for the orientation of their business.
“I never object if well founded and justified, but normally it’s not,” Bradshaw said. “Dallas Crown is a long time corporate citizen of Kaufman, what they do is good from an agricultural standpoint that creates jobs and an economic stimulus.”
“Kaufman’s request for Temporary Injunctive Relief is granted to the
extent that Dallas Crown may not emit Waste Water that contains levels higher
than allowed by the City Ordinances, State or Federal Law,” as stated in Case
No. 65977CC in the County Court at Law, Kaufman County, Texas.
“Additionally, the Court orders that Dallas Crown obtains, at its
expense, additional testing pursuant to the following requirements…”
It further states that samples will be tested for a period of three weeks
by three different labs. Dallas
Crown must remain in compliance for five consecutive days of operation during
the three-week testing period. The
three weeks began on September 3rd, and we await final analyses and
reports as to whether or not Dallas Crown is able to come into compliance.
If Dallas Crown is unable to meet requirements of their permit, as stated, the city’s Industrial Wastewater ordinance allows the city to suspend or deny renewal of their permit.