Atwood Residents Upset Again

July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.

By Daniel [email protected]

A group of Atwood residents, now armed with an attorney, will once again appear before the Area Plan Commission May 5.

As first reported in the Times-Union in December, residents near Nature's Fuel in Atwood have complained that the facility is unsafe and causes health problems.

The plant, located off Old 30, takes wood in to create biofuel.[[In-content Ad]]But the effects of the plant's production continue to upset its neighbors.

Sharon Bryer said she and many of her neighbors are frustrated because the county will say it's the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's responsibility while IDEM will say it's the county's responsibility.

Bryer said the group hasn't filed a lawsuit yet but have retained attorney Kim Ferraro out of Valparaiso.

"The problem has gotten consistently worse," said Bryer. "There are more people sick."

Along with a biochar that lands on gardens and homes near the plant, residents complain that the plant causes people to suffer such health problems as headaches, sore throats, respiratory problems and nausea.

In a prepared statement, Bryer said the residents have tried to work with Nature's Fuel but the promises the company made "have all proven to be false."

Bryer said NIPSCO has been out recently on several calls because of a nature-gas smell residents claim is coming from Nature's Fuel.

Bryer and her husband spent a night in a hotel because of the smell.

Bryer said she's been told it may take as many as four years to settle with Nature's Fuel.

"We want to get our lives back," said Bryer.

A group of Atwood residents, now armed with an attorney, will once again appear before the Area Plan Commission May 5.

As first reported in the Times-Union in December, residents near Nature's Fuel in Atwood have complained that the facility is unsafe and causes health problems.

The plant, located off Old 30, takes wood in to create biofuel.[[In-content Ad]]But the effects of the plant's production continue to upset its neighbors.

Sharon Bryer said she and many of her neighbors are frustrated because the county will say it's the Indiana Department of Environmental Management's responsibility while IDEM will say it's the county's responsibility.

Bryer said the group hasn't filed a lawsuit yet but have retained attorney Kim Ferraro out of Valparaiso.

"The problem has gotten consistently worse," said Bryer. "There are more people sick."

Along with a biochar that lands on gardens and homes near the plant, residents complain that the plant causes people to suffer such health problems as headaches, sore throats, respiratory problems and nausea.

In a prepared statement, Bryer said the residents have tried to work with Nature's Fuel but the promises the company made "have all proven to be false."

Bryer said NIPSCO has been out recently on several calls because of a nature-gas smell residents claim is coming from Nature's Fuel.

Bryer and her husband spent a night in a hotel because of the smell.

Bryer said she's been told it may take as many as four years to settle with Nature's Fuel.

"We want to get our lives back," said Bryer.
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