Ruling stinks for meat processing plant

A stinky town can enforce its laws on bad smells, according to a federal judge who ruled that an odor ordinance in the small South Dakota city of Sibley is constitutional, the Sioux City Journal reported Tuesday.

Iowa Drying & Processing, which processes pig blood and other byproducts, had challenged the city’ odor ordinance, which the company had been cited for violating no less than 45 times over the years. The company argued the law was “vague” and said the city's enforcement, which includes thousands of dollars in fines, had unfairly targeted the company and interfered with its efforts to sell the plant, the newspaper reported.

The city, in turn, filed a motion for summary judgment, which a judge granted, ruling that the ordinance was not vague and that the “public nuisance” issue in the ordinance has been upheld by other courts, according to the article.

The processing plant had long been the subject of numerous complaints from some of its 2,700 residents about the smell emanating from its facility, according to the article.