Animal Feed Processor — Drawing Ire Of Nearby Residents Over ‘Burnt Cheese’ Smell — Sues Village

By Richard Mayer | on June 06, 2023

Silos at Prestige Feed in Mount Prospect's Kensington Business Center. (Photo submitted)

A Mount Prospect company is suing the village claiming that if the company's business license is revoked due to certain odors violating village code, they would lose millions of dollars.

A tolling agreement was entered March 30, 2021 between the village and Prestige Feed Products, 431 N. Lakeview Ct., Suite A, in the Kensington Business Center, to pause any litigation so the company could work on implementing a better odor filtration system. Nearby businesses and residents have complained of a "burnt cheese" smell around Prestige's location just west of Wolf Road between Central and Kensington.

In June 2019, the village sent a notice of violation letter to Joe Pesoli, owner of Prestige, which makes products for swine, cattle and pet food markets. The smell is a cheese product used in animal feed. The letter indicated that Prestige was violating village code pertaining to "odorous matter limitations." The village ordered Prestige to stop operations immediately until it used a scrubbing solution to eliminate the discharge of odors resulting from the company's dehydration process.

Following action taken by Prestige to lessen the smell, the village in recent weeks started to receive more complaints. Hours of operation for the company are primarily 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Village Manager Michael Cassady said the village April 10 advised Prestige they were terminating the tolling agreement since no resolution had been made, and would force Prestige to either go through the zoning process to seek relief, litigate the matter, or decide to relocate elsewhere in the village or to another community.

Prestige May 25 filed a lawsuit in Cook County against the village, naming Cassady, Director of Community Development Bill Cooney, Director of Building & Inspection Services Bill Schroeder, and Mayor Paul Hoefert.

According to the complaint, the village is threatening to revoke Prestige's business license and occupancy permit as of Friday, June 9, claiming that the business is a "nuisance." Prestige states in the lawsuit they commissioned two scientific odor studies during 2021 and 2022, which measure the air discharged from the facility.

"These facts and data conclusively establish that the level of odor discharge from Prestige's facility is either immeasurable or well below the legal definition of nuisance," the complaint says.

If the village revokes Prestige's occupancy permit and business license, the complaint says Prestige "would immediately default on its contract orders for delivery of product in the pipeline with serious financial consequences for the business and its customers; all of Prestige's plant workers will immediately lose their jobs; the company will default on payment of its monthly rent obligations to its landlord; and the business would lose its $2,944,151 investment in the facility."

The village granted Prestige an occupancy permit on Feb. 7, 2019, and Prestige began operations March 19 of that year. A short time after operations began, neighbors surrounding the facility, most residing in Des Plaines’ Longford Glen neighborhood across Wolf Road, complained about odors coming from the facility.

To address complaints and concerns, Prestige halted operations between June and October 2019 and informed the village that it would purchase and install a Byers Scientific Vapor System to reduce or eliminate released odors. The system was installed in September 2019 and further calibrated through October 2019. Prestige resumed operations in October 2019.

Between November 2019 and April 2020, the village shared with Prestige additional complaints from neighbors, some of which were on days when Prestige was not operating its equipment at the facility, the complaint says, adding that during this time, Prestige improved the existing odor mitigation system by installing additional vaporization nozzles to disperse more vapor to the airstream.

According to the complaint, on April 22, 2020, Prestige advised the village that, in good faith, it would further improve the odor mitigation system by reconstructing the ductwork from the exterior cyclones to be "all closed" duct work and have the air dispersed into a carbon filtration system on the roof of the facility. The village approved this plan and Prestige completed re-construction of the odor control system in July 2020. On Oct. 1, 2020, representatives of Prestige and the village met at the facility during operation and agreed that Prestige could resume general operations with no restrictions due to lack of released odors. Prestige operated during regular hours from Oct. 1, 2020 to Feb. 28, 2021.

On March 1, 2021, the village sent Prestige a Notice of Imminent Legal Action alleging that Prestige's operations constituted a nuisance, claiming the ongoing odors remained in violation of village code.

To address these concerns, Prestige hired Mostardi Platt, an expert engineering and environmental compliance firm, to perform an onsite and offsite odor investigation. Additionally, Prestige agreed to run the facility at limited late night and early morning hours between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The village attorney on April 29, 2021, sent Prestige a written demand to cease and desist operations until further notice. Prestige proposed to adjust the starting time of its machinery at the facility to 11 p.m. The village agreed and starting May 11, 2021, the village allowed Prestige to run its production equipment and machinery at the facility overnight on weeknights.

According to the lawsuit, as of April 2021, no measured nuisance from the facility existed on or surrounding the properties, and it was determined the facility was not negatively impacting neighboring properties. The village then allowed Prestige to continue operating during nighttime hours starting in June 2021.

During spring 2022, the lawsuit says Prestige implemented additional significant upgrades to its odor control system. Prestige upgraded the carbon filters and built a new custom aluminum filter cage to provide additional support against the elements, and upgraded the vapor deodorizer solution specifically engineered for solid waste odor applications and is a stronger and more potent mix of essential oils.

According to the complaint, during September and October 2022, the village reported receiving additional complaints about odors emanating from the Prestige, some of which were received on days when Prestige was not operating. In response to these allegations, Prestige commissioned a second report from Mostardi Platt, which collected data on June 10, 2022, and issued an updated report on Oct. 31, 2022 where the test results demonstrated that Prestige's operation at the facility does not reach or surpass the nuisance threshold and did not impact the use and enjoyment of neighboring properties.

But on April 10, 2023, the village informed Prestige they intended to terminate the tolling agreement as of June 9.

The complaint states that Prestige "employs five workers during overnight hours and requires a second daytime shift in order to meet demand for its product and has spent $432,594 on odor remediation equipment between 2019-22 in order to achieve near zero measurable odors, comply with village code, be a good neighbor, and operate in good faith."

The lawsuit adds that Prestige is willing to invest an additional $171,899 to install a Tri-Stack Strobic Air Fan to further reduce or completely eliminate the emissions at the site, but the village has threatened to issue another "cease and desist order" after June 9.

"The village has presented no objective measurable or scientific data to substantiate

or support the claim that Prestige's use constitutes a nuisance," the lawsuit states. "Due to the fact that the village has no objective facts or data that establish that Prestige's business is a nuisance as defined by law, Prestige has a high likelihood of prevailing on the merits."

The lawsuit stipulates that "the actions of the village and its officials towards Prestige are intentional, substantial, unjustifiable, and unreasonable."

Prestige is asking for a temporary restraining order, and a preliminary and permanent injunction against the village and its officials from issuing a "cease and desist order," from revoking its business license and from revoking its occupancy permit.

In a June 5 email from Cassady to Des Plaines City Manager Mike Bartholomew and several other elected officials and community members, Cassady stated the owners of Prestige sued Mount Prospect and several individuals for injunction, declaratory judgment and damages as a result of their determination of the ongoing alleged zoning ordinance violation. He also stated the owners of Prestige have filed an emergency temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the village and individuals named in the suit.

A hearing is scheduled for tomorrow (Wednesday) on that emergency temporary restraining order, but Cassady noted the village is in the process of negotiating an order that would put restrictions on Prestige's operations during the litigation process to mitigate any negative impacts to surrounding residents and businesses.

In the lawsuit, Prestige is also asking to be awarded damages in excess of $50,000 against the village for any and all suffered financial losses.

Aside from the immediate hearing on the emergency temporary restraining order, the next hearing for the lawsuit is set for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 25 in Chicago.