Organizers of a proposed meat processing facility are asking Warren County for land once used to incinerate trash.
Representatives from the Northwest Jersey Food Processing Innovation Center spoke Thursday before Warren County Commissioners.
The group is asking the county to transfer the property, formerly home to the Covanta Warren Energy Resources Company LLC Center, at 218 Mount Pisgah Ave. in Oxford. The incinerator was shut down in 2019, and demolition of the facility began earlier this year.
The Food Processing Innovation Center is a nonprofit organization with the goal of establishing a regional livestock meat processing center that can serve local farmers as well as the broader tri-state area.
Richard Cotton, president of the Food Processing Center, said farmers in Warren County and New Jersey often have to send livestock out of state for processing, which is difficult and expensive for small farmers. said.
Cotton said that while large livestock producers have priority scheduling at large processing facilities, small farmers also have to wait in line.
Covanta’s site is ideally located, with access to high-voltage electricity and sewer and water lines already on site, Cotton said.
Cotton asked county commissioners to transfer the property to Warren County Community College. The university would then lease the property to a food processing center organization.
Warren County Community College President Will Austin said the plant will house classrooms and provide educational opportunities for students at Warren County Community College and other colleges and universities to learn about the agricultural industry, including food processing, distribution and packaging. Then he said.
Austin said if the county commits to providing the plant site, the university could seek grants to fund the educational aspects of the facility.
Warren County Governor Alex Lazolisak said the county is in no position to do anything with the land.
Covanta has a contract with the Warren County Pollution Prevention Financing Authority to clean up and remediate the site, but any construction on the site would require approval from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Lazolisak said.
Warren County Commissioner Jason Sarnoski said he supports the idea of a local meat processing plant, but he wants the county to be able to legally transfer ownership of the land and that plans for the processing facility would benefit Oxford and Warren County taxpayers. He said he wanted to make sure it was profitable.
Sarnoski said the county needs to know the value of the property before deciding to donate or sell it.
Knowlton Township Commissioner Frank Van Horn told commissioners he has spoken with hundreds of farmers who support processing plants. He said a meat processing plant in Warren County would have long-term benefits for local farmers.
“This is a vision,” Van Horn said.
New Jersey Farm Bureau Executive Director Peter Fury said Warren County has worked to preserve farmland, but a local meat processing plant is needed to make local agriculture more profitable. said.
“If you’re going to conserve land, you have to have the economic viability to continue to preserve it,” Furey said.
Warren County Commissioner James Kahn said the plant fits Warren County’s goals, and that he is working to move the project forward and sort out the details of how the county will provide the land for the Food Processing Innovation Center. The establishment of an advisory group was recommended.
Commissioners said they would establish a committee by the next commission meeting on Oct. 23.
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John Best is a freelance contributor to lehighvalleylive.com. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
