<p>Animal rendering plants have been the subject of court cases and citizen complaints in several parts of the state. Now, a proposal before the state Senate would prevent neighbors from suing them for being a nuisance.</p><p>State law protects farms and livestock ranches from being sued by neighbors for bad smells, loud noise and other activity that could disturb them. A bill by Sen. Casey Cagle, R-Gainesville, would give rendering plants the same protections.</p><p>After meat is processed and packaged for humans to eat, the remains of the carcasses are shipped to rendering plants. There, animal fat is cooked into oils for products like soap and other remains are used to make fertilizer, animal food and other products.</p><p>Cagle, whose hometown is one of the nation's leading poultry producers, says he believes the plants should already be protected under the law and his bill merely clarifies that.</p><p>But citizens groups, environmental activists and some lawmakers are lining up against the plan, saying it takes away one of the main tools to keep in check an industry that's been guilty of multiple violations.</p><p>"Good neighbors are not going to be impacted by this; they aren't going to be sued for being a nuisance," said Justine Thompson, director of the Georgia Center for Law in the Public Interest. "This is just creating an exemption for the worst actors."</p><p>In November, Griffin Industries _ which owns a rendering plant in East Dublin _ pleaded guilty in federal court and was fined $50,000 for dumping waste into a creek off of the Oconee River.</p><p>Neighbors also have filed a nuisance lawsuit, claiming that noxious odors from the plant lower their quality of life. Similar lawsuits have cropped up several times over the years in Georgia _ many of them in and around Cagle's north Georgia district.</p><p>More than 40 billion pounds of food processing waste is sent to rendering plants every year, according to a Georgia Tech report. Of that, about 23 billion pounds is poultry waste.</p><p>A representative of the Georgia Poultry Federation could not be reached to comment. A spokesman for Kentucky-based Griffin Industries referred questions to an attorney, who did not immediately return telephone calls.</p><p>Cagle, who has announced plans to run for lieutenant governor in 2006, said his bill is an effort to protect rendering plants that abide by the law. He said sometimes neighbors complain even when a plant has been operating before they moved into the area.</p><p>He said plenty of laws already exist to punish plants that step over the line.</p><p>"There are ample ways in which you can address a problem facility. There are remedies to those issues, but not on the grounds of it being a nuisance," said Cagle, who is not related to the owners of Atlanta-based Cagle's Chicken.</p><p>Opponents say no state law, other than nuisance laws, protects property owners from unpleasant smells _ a common rendering plant complaint _ and environmental laws can only be used after a plant has already caused damage, like in the Griffin Industries case.</p><p>"We don't understand why the property rights of the rendering plants should trump the rights of the homeowners," said Mark Woodall, who monitors legislation for the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club.</p><p>A Senate committee advanced the bill with little discussion, but some lawmakers say it's in for a fight if it goes further.</p><p>Rep. Dubose Porter, D-Dublin, the House Democratic Leader who represents the area surrounding the Griffin Industries plant, blames Republicans for pushing to take care of industries at the expense of average citizens.</p><p>"This just continues a habit by the Republican Senate of abridging individual property rights for an industry that, at times, has not been responsible in this state," Porter said. "We understand rendering plants are needed to support agriculture industries, but people ought to have some way to hold them accountable."</p><p>Not all Senate Republicans _ who hold a 34-22 advantage in the chamber _ are ready to back the plan.</p><p>"My concerns are that most rendering plants, in and of themselves, are kind of nuisances," said Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland. "They may be necessary evils, but you sure don't want them in your community."</p><p>Harp predicted the bill will receive "vigorous debate" if it makes it to the Senate floor.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x28636ec)</p>
