Sibley, Iowa — The deadline for Iowa Drying and Processing to deposit money in an escrow account has passed — and no money has been deposited, according to Sibley City Attorney Harold Dawson.
After holding a public hearing about the odor coming from the Iowa Drying and Processing (or IDP) plant, the City of Sibley ordered IDP, and their parent company, ChemSol to deposit $50,000 into an escrow account held by the City of Sibley, which was to be used to hire and pay an engineer of the City’s choosing, to study IDP’s operations and make recommendations, and be reasonably used to abate any future nuisances. The measure required IDP and ChemSol to deposit the required funds on or before Monday, April, 11, 2016.
Dawson says that date has come and gone, but no money was deposited into the escrow account. He says at this time the Sibley City Council is weighing their options.
When we asked Dawson if the council would consider forcing IDP to move out of town, he said that in the City’s Notice of Abatement and Nuisance, stated that their objective was to abate the nuisance, not force the plant out of town. He says the decision says that they want to find a mechanism to make sure that any future nuisances are abated.
Dawson says no one from IDP has given the City an official reason why they did not post the $50,000. Dawson says he would expect that a special meeting of the Sibley City Council will be called to discuss the issue, but it is up to the council.
