Saturday
May 18, 2024 
A Plumstead slaughterhouse is working to alleviate complaints of a strong smell of dead animals emanating from its Durham Road facility, which prompted a response from township officials.
“Kingdom Provisions has already taken steps to address the township’s concerns and will continue to do so,” said Eastburn and Gray P.C. attorney John A. VanLuvanee in a statement his office passed along to the Herald on Wednesday.
Kerry Rush, one of the slaughterhouse’s owners, said the site this month stopped composting animal hides, although he stressed that doing so is perfectly legal.
He acknowledged that the complaints generated a visit from township inspectors who informed the business this week of some code “violations.” Rush said those were quickly dealt with.
Neighbors began complaining last month of a strong odor coming from the slaughterhouse property’s fields, where they said animal hides were decomposing near their properties.
The stench, they complained, extended for miles around the facility, particularly over the past few weeks, saying they “can’t open their windows anymore” and that the smell is “sticking to clothing and making them sick.”
Pat and Jim Dyckes, who have lived in Plumstead for over 40 years, said they were also concerned about their water and their neighbors, who all use wells and worry about the potential for contamination.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, they said, previously cited Kingdom Provisions for a violation related to how waste was being discharged into the runoff stream.
Jim, Pat, and other neighbors have raised concerns in the past over Kingdom’s scope and size of the operation. They reached out to the township supervisors who recommended they bring this complaint to the PA DEP. The DEP then sent them back to the local government and the Bucks County Board of Health, which the neighbors found to be maddening.
One of these residents is Gerri Guld, who said she and her neighbors were “frustrated” by the “horrible stench” that, she said, escalated particularly during the heat wave in late July. The residents brought their complaints to township supervisors and were initially told “we will look into it” and “these things take time.”
They also contacted their state representative Shelby Labs, who agreed to contact the PA DEP, township supervisors, and managers from Kingdom Provisions. Labs’ team told the neighbors that Kingdom Provisions had agreed to clear the hides from the property.
In an email, Plumstead Township Manager Angela Benner wrote that “The Township and County will monitor the Conservation Easement on the property to ensure that the property owner is complying with the terms of the Conservation Easements both municipal entities placed on the property last year.”
Benner has also reached out to the Bucks County Department of Health, PA DEP, and USDA to ensure all county, state and federal guidelines are being followed.
“The Township may also consider potential litigation after the Board of Supervisors has an opportunity to discuss its options with the Township Solicitor,” she added in the email.
For his part, Rush said the slaughterhouse works to comply with all relevant rules and regulations and characterized the situation as a “witch hunt.”
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