Niles Township to consider special land use permit Tuesday

The Niles Township Planning Commission is expected to consider granting a special land use permit on Tuesday that would allow a company to move forward with opening a waste treatment and storage facility in Niles Township.

The proposed facility has drawn opposition from the majority of the people who live near the property, including Akos Kovach, who circulated a petition against the project that acquired more than 70 signatures.

Kovach said he and other residents are worried that an accident at the facility could contaminate the area around it, which includes Brandywine Creek.

“We don’t see it as a positive addition for us or the Niles community,” he said. “When there are human beings handling this something bad is going to happen. There is a better place to put this and it isn’t among the population.”

Tuesday’s meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Niles Township Hall, which is located at 320 Bell Road in Niles.

Earth Smart Environmental Solutions is requesting the planning commission to approve a special land use permit so it can open a waste treatment, storage and disposal facility at 1400 S. Third St., the location of the former Green Giant mushroom plant. Earth Smart purchased the facility last spring.

In its application to the township, the Florida-based company said it would use one of the five buildings on the site to temporarily store non-hazardous, hazardous and medical waste, including fuel, pharmaceuticals, bandages, mercury devices and aerosol cans, to name a few.

David Hux, co-owner of the company, has said the facility would be regulated by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Transportation. He said the waste would not be disposed of or stored long-term on site and that it would be bulked and shipped to treatment facilities elsewhere.

Earth Smart Environmental Solutions is requesting the planning commission to approve a special land use permit so it can open a waste treatment, storage and disposal facility at 1400 S. Third St., the location of the former Green Giant mushroom plant. Earth Smart purchased the facility last spring.

In its application to the township, the Florida-based company said it would use one of the five buildings on the site to temporarily store non-hazardous, hazardous and medical waste, including fuel, pharmaceuticals, bandages, mercury devices and aerosol cans, to name a few.

David Hux, co-owner of the company, has said the facility would be regulated by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Transportation. He said the waste would not be disposed of or stored long-term on site and that it would be bulked and shipped to treatment facilities elsewhere.