For more than 90 minutes Tuesday evening, Alabama Department of Environmental Management Agency representatives heard from 14 people who registered to speak regarding an air permit sought by Pilgrim s Pride for a proposed rendering plant on Steele Station Road.
Outside the Downtown Civic Center, a crowd gathered with Stop the Rendering Plant and other signs, chanting Just say no and other slogans as people entered the back of the center for the hearing.
Opponents of the rendering plant staged another event next door at the Pitman Theatre, with the anticipation that people would address the ADEM hearing, then come to deliver the same comments to people gathered at the Pitman.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management Agency has set a public hearing at 6 p.m. Jan. 26 for proposed air permits for the proposed Pilgrim s Pride rendering plant on Steele Station Road.
The City of Gadsden worked with ADEM to find a location the Downtown Civic Center for the hearing, according to Gadsden Public Affairs Coordinator Michael Rodgers.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ADEM has enacted special public hearing procedures, including changes in the hearing format, speaking registration and safety procedures.
That means anyone who wants to speak at the hearing has to register in advance, and only one speaker at a time will be allowed in the hearing room. There will be no general audience in the room, according to ADEM s website. Anyone who speaks to ADEM representatives at the meeting is encouraged to also submit their comments in writing.