Plumstead is taking Pipersville slaughterhouse owner to court over its 'unbearable odors'

Update: On Thursday Bucks County and the Heritage Conservancy filed a separate complaint in Bucks County Common Pleas Court alleging Kingdom Provisions is violating its agricultural conservation easement on the property and asks the court to enforce the easement.

Plumstead Township wants to force a Pipersville slaughterhouse operator to stop its alleged illegal composting of animal remains until it has met state and local regulations.

In a civil complaint , the township alleges that Kingdom Provisions LLC and its parent company Kingdom Equity Partners LLC have repeatedly ignored violation notices and deadlines to fix issues at its 5900 block of Durham Road property.

Officials also allege the business regraded soil in an attempt to curb the stormwater runoff from its slaughterhouse and apply blood to fields without submitting plans and obtaining permits.

“Kingdom Provisions has been composting animals in a manner not approved by any regulatory agency and applying blood from the slaughtering operations to the fields,” according to the complaint filed in Bucks County Common Pleas Court.

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While there are approved methods for applying residual animal blood to fields for agricultural purposes, it has to be done according to an approved plan “not simply spread in a field and forgotten,” the complaint said.

The civil action filed on July 9 followed more than a year of local and state investigations after neighbors complained.

Kingdom Provisions is located in a rural residential district where residents have filed dozens of complaints with state and local agencies about foul odors from decomposing animal remains and the constant presence of insects and turkey vultures.

Neighbors also are worried about groundwater contamination and pollution to nearby properties and nearby Cabin Run Creek, the lawsuit says.

Plumstead does not have a public water or sewer system meaning residents rely on wells and septic tanks.

Kingdom Provisions, which describes itself as a USDA custom meat processing slaughterhouse, has been the tenant of the property since March 2023, according to the lawsuit.

Company owner, Ephraim Stoltzfus , is also a principal in Kingdom Equity Partners, which purchased the property in December for $1 million, property records show.

Neither Stoltzfus or his attorney, John VanLuvanee, responded to emails sent last week seeking comment.  But the company has appealed the township’s zoning violation notices issued against it last year.

Historically the property has been used for agricultural purposes, according to Plumstead. It has a single family home, apartment and small butcher shop.

In 2022, Plumstead purchased a conservation easement on the property, which prohibits dumping any materials except organic plant materials usually related to agricultural uses, according to the lawsuit.

The property is also subject to a separate agricultural conservation easement held by the Heritage Conservancy and Bucks County.

The previous property owner Gouldey and Sons Inc., which operated Gouldey’s Meats for decades, sold to Plumstead Acquisitions LLC in 2021 for $1, according to county assessment records.

Under Gouldey’s ownership there were no complaints received about foul odors, according to Plumstead and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

But shortly after Kingdom Provisions started using the property the township started getting odor complaints from neighbors related to the composting of animal remains.

Stoltzfus responded to the complaints in April 2023 assuring Plumstead officials the problems had been corrected and he promised to keep the compost site “functioning properly,” according to the suit.

But a month later, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection cited the business for “unpermitted discharge” of slaughterhouse wastewater into Cabin Run Creek, which abuts the property, according to the lawsuit and DEP records.

Two months later, in July 2023, the foul orders returned. So did the Pennsylvania DEP inspectors.

On three site visits that month, the inspectors found dumpsters of animal remains leaking fluids and improperly composted, and uncovered decomposing remains in dumpsters, which is not a practice sanctioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the lawsuit alleges.

When a DEP representative suggested the business dispose of the slaughtering byproducts off site, an employee said that it would “cost too much money,” the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit also alleges Kingdom Provisions failed to submit a revised conservation plan showing how it is managing and monitoring the activities and instead “accelerated its composting practices,” the suit said.

As recently as June 16, photographs show uncovered piles of animal remains surrounded by pools of blood, creating “unbearable odors” for neighbors, the lawsuit said.

Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Plumstead is taking Pipersville slaughterhouse owner to court over its 'unbearable odors'