PHOTO: The proposed plant would have been located in the Fyffe Industrial Park on Highway 75. (Tyler Pruett | Southern Torch)
By Tyler Pruett, Managing Editor
FYFFE, Ala. — Editors note: On the front page of this week's edition, we featured a story on the public meeting being held in Fyffe tomorrow night regarding the possibility of chicken processing plant coming to Fyffe. Shortly after sending our paper to print, we were notified of the meeting's cancellation.
The Poultry Processing plant that was looking at locating in Fyffe has been cancelled. A public meeting was scheduled for Friday night of this week, but is no longer necessary.
The reasoning for the cancellation is reported as an environmental impact study revealed that the output of the facility would not be able to be handled by the Rainsville Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP).
According to Fyffe Mayor Paul Cagle, "All along we were waiting on some information with regards to everything that would be involved in the acceptance of this plant. We did not receive final information with regards to the sewer treatment plant in Rainsville until yesterday."
"With that information, it made it impossible at this time to continue with this project. We hope to have other industry in the near future," said Cagle.
Reportedly, the owners first looked at the City of Fort Payne which turned them down for undisclosed reasons. The business then approached Rainsville, and the city was interested, but the sewer access lines would not accommodate the facility. It would have cost Rainsville around $1 million dollars to upgrade the access lines.
Cagle also related in the earlier that the plant will be for filleting; which will mean cutting the already processed breast. No birds will be killed onsite. The company will be named Mountain Fresh Foods, LLC. And the business is North Alabama-owned; with one owner being from Guntersville and another from Decatur.
The company currently operates one facility in Guntersville, Farm Fresh Foods LLC, and was trying to expand in DeKalb County.
No word yet if the company will seek another location in DeKalb or the area.
