LEESVILLE — Heavy rains and the threat of tornadoes did not keep dozens of Vernon Parish residents from attending a public hearing Tuesday night at City Hall to voice their concerns over a permit for Westin Services LLC.

The company, located just off U.S. 171, operates as a waste pumping and disposal service. But it filed a draft with the state Department of Environmental Quality requesting a permit for sewage sludge and biosolids use or disposal.

The permit could allow the company’s owner and president, Rupert White, to store human waste on site and produce biosolids from that waste.

At the beginning of the hearing, Westin declined the opportunity for an introductory presentation and instead said he would reserve his comments in writing to the DEQ.

“We have a lot of unanswered questions, and you’re going to get a lot of negative comments tonight because it’s unknown,” Mayor Rick Allen said.

No one who spoke at the hearing was in favor of the facility, with many citing concerns that there would be an odor surrounding the facility and that their property values would drop considerably.

Matthew Cartlidge, a Fort Polk soldier who lives just a mile from the site, said he was worried that the facility could undermine efforts being made to save Fort Polk from severe military cuts.

“If this area starts to smell with the stench of a fertilizer plant, I don’t think that many soldiers will consider this a station of choice,” he said. “Whether we want to admit it or not, this community and this state needs the Army a lot more than the Army needs this community and state.” 

Pediatrician Dr. Robert Crowe talked about concerns that the facility could affect residents’ health, from the nitrate gases that could be released to the potential contamination of the soil and water table from any runoff.

“We have a very small area that this is going to be contained in, and I agree with the folks that mentioned the fact that it is just a lot of potential problems in too small of a space,” he said.

At the end of the meeting, hearing officer Brandon Williams said public comments would be taken through 4:30 p.m. today. Comments may be submitted via email to deq.publicnotices@la.gov or faxed to 225-219-3309.

Williams said all comments would be submitted to the permitting department, which will decide if a permit is issued.