Adrian, MI – The City of Adrian and Crimson Holdings were back in Lenawee County District Court earlier this week.
The two sides were also in court late last year over smells being emitted from the egg-processing facility on East Maumee Street on Adrian’s east side. That hearing, in the courtroom of Judge Laura Schaedler, led to the plant being forced to cut back to one 12-hour shift per day… 7pm to 7am.
After the 2022 hearing, Crimson was to install an exhaust tower to help eliminate the odors. The stack was installed by the end of March of this year.
Since that time, Crimson has been issued violation notices from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. In court this week, testimony given by Plant Manager Dan Hofbauer revealed that the plant also violated the order by Judge Schaedler…by operating outside of the restricted hours on multiple occasions…at the direction of the company’s CEO. He also testified that the company has been working to try to alleviate the egg odors.
The City’s legal representation is pushing to stop Crimson Holdings from operating until the smells are taken care of…while the company is essentially asking for more time to fix problems. They have also argued that the court has no authority in this issue.
Testimony was given by two witnesses, Lenawee County Commissioner KZ Bolton and Hofbauer. Both testified on behalf of Crimson Holdings. Bolton also testified on behalf of the City last year. She says, now, that the smell has improved and that the addition of the stack has been an asset but has not eliminated the odors completely.
Judge Schaedler set the next hearing for the end of the month…and in the meantime, the plant will go back to operating from 7pm to 7am each day.
Tune into our local and state newscasts, anytime day or night, for this story and more.
#wlenradio #wlennews #lenaweenews