Columbus City Utilities is working with Ninth Avenue Foods to address problems with the company’s wastewater.
The strength of the company’s discharge has been exceeding permitted limits, said Columbus City Utilities Executive Director Roger Kelso.
“We have issued a new permit to hopefully bring them into line with our, what we feel like’s an appropriate loading down at the treatment plant,” he said at a Utility Service Board meeting in November. “That’s an ongoing back-and-forth negotiation with them. We recently had some discussions with them, and it appears that they are engaging some consultants from outside to assist them into coming into compliance with our rules.”
He also told The Republic that the company is planning to add additional treatment on their site, but the plans have not been finalized yet. Additionally, utilities officials have had some preliminary discussions about whether to raise its rates for excessive strength surcharges.
According to Kelso, Ninth Avenue Foods is using 52% of the utility’s wastewater capacity but only provides 17% of their revenue. He said that while the capacity to revenue ratio is not always one to one for customers, a difference of this size is unusual.
However, he added that the business is working to be “good stewards,” and he expects the matter to be resolved in the next couple of months.
“They (Ninth Avenue) are significantly larger than anything the utility’s had for a long time,” Kelso said. “And so there’s things that we’re having to, on both sides, learn in order to get things to balance out properly.”
“First and foremost, it’s important for readers to understand that Ninth Avenue Foods is not discharging into rivers, ponds, or streams,” said Joe Lunzer, vice president of property development at the company. “This is discharge going to the Columbus wastewater treatment facility, as intended, to treat this water. That said, we are actively meeting with Columbus Utilities and Columbus City Management around the issues and are committed to a positive resolution for all the parties involved.”
The company recently requested a personal property tax abatement for a proposed investment of $18 million in new equipment. Columbus City Council was set to vote on the matter in September, but the request was tabled. At the time, Mayor Jim Lienhoop said that a couple of council members had questions about the wastewater discharge from Ninth Avenue’s plant.
When asked about the abatement, Lunzer said that Ninth Avenue has decided to “press pause” on the request until the issue has been resolved.
“We want to remain a positive source of jobs in the community and look forward to continued growth in the future,” he added.
The council previously voted in 2021 to approve Ninth Avenue’s request for tax abatements on $32 million in real property investment and $70 million in personal property investment for equipment. Assistant Director of Community Development Robin Hilber said at the time that the company’s decision to locate the plant in Columbus was contingent on the approval of these incentives.
Lunzer stated in the company’s latest abatement application that Ninth Avenue had recently finished construction of its new $103 million-plus dairy and plant-based beverage production facility on the south side of Columbus.
“As of today, we now proudly employ 85 persons at our 220,000-square-foot Columbus facility, including manufacturing, logistics, and R&D positions,” he wrote to city officials in late August. “As previously pledged, we fully expect to reach 101 full-time positions before the end of next year.”
The proposed $18 million investment was expected to result in an additional 10 jobs at the plant.
