As Christine Davis scans the neighboring property full of jagged volcanic rock and brush, a look of anguish sweeps across her face.
HAGERMAN, Idaho — As Christine Davis scans the neighboring property full of jagged volcanic rock and brush, a look of anguish sweeps across her face.
Four to five years ago, Davis and husband, Rick, built their yellow ranch-style house in the Hagerman Valley -- an area blessed not only with a mild climate but also the beauty of the Snake River and Hagerman Fossil Beds. This is where the couple had hoped to grow old.
That dream may change, Davis said, if Gooding County Planning and Zoning commissioners grant her neighbor a special-use permit for his proposed biotech facility -- a facility that would include a laboratory, "bleeding barn" and catch corrals.
"We don't want industry to come down to the bottom of Hagerman Valley," Davis said.
The couple joined with other residents in signing a petition asking the commissioners to deny Mark Nebeker a permit to construct his Idaho Bio Products company on the property next to the Davis residence. The area is zoned as a transitional district, or T2, which allows residential uses as well as nonresidential uses providing the applicant obtain a special-use permit from the county. On Monday, Feb. 28, the Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public meeting on Nebeker's permit request.
However, the uniqueness of the Nebeker's proposed operation has caused quite an uproar. The dearth of information about the project has led only to increased anxiety.
"The reason the neighbors are all concerned is the paperwork is really vague," Davis said. "We don't really know what's going on."
Nebeker readily concedes that the lack of information about his company, or Idaho's biotech industry in general, has ruffled a few feathers. He is anxious to remedy the situation at a town meeting this Saturday in Hagerman.
"I think there's a lot of positive that can happen from having the business here," Nebeker said.
The business is a little tough to grasp, he admits. People hear of bleeding barns, of blood collection and of animal organs and get all kinds of ideas, Nebeker said.
"There's a lot of fears because people just don't know," he said. "And that, I understand."
The company's products and services will be used in a variety of applications, Nebeker said. For example, pharmaceutical companies use the serum from blood that Nebeker collects in making diagnostic kits for hepatitis and other diseases, he said. Similar products augment cell growth for cancer studies.
Nebeker is quick to dispel one rumor about his proposed facility.
"I will not bring any dead animals over to the property," he said.
Instead, he said, most of the raw materials -- blood and tissue -- will be collected at slaughterhouses and brought to the facility for processing. At times, Nebeker said, the bleeding barn may be used for live blood donation, similar to blood donations conducted by Red Cross in humans, he said.
"My business is based on having a very clean environment," Nebeker said.
Nebeker was raised in Murtaugh and has spent the last 25 years working in the bio products industry in California. He hopes to use his experience in the field in his own startup company in Hagerman, but until then he continues to work in California.
"I have family here," Nebeker said. "This is coming home for me."
As the business grows, Nebeker envisions hiring six to eight employees. Initially, Nebeker will run the operation on his own with help from a few part-time employees.
In letters to the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Davises and others have raised specific concerns about Nebeker's application. Several issues revolve around the scarcity of information on Nebeker's special-use permit request. "If they were to give this guy a special-use permit with the information he has, he could do anything," Rick Davis said.
Waste handling and disposal particularly worry neighbors of Idaho Bio Products. With few biotech companies in Idaho, regulating this type of waste seems to leave everyone with questions.
In a letter dated Jan. 13, a representative of the Department of Environmental Quality outlined concerns involving the company's proposed method of wastewater disposal. The DEQ determined that Idaho Bio Products' means of discarding its protein isolate wastewater "is not an acceptable method of disposal," wrote David Anderson, regional manager of engineering.
The DEQ gave Nebeker suggestions on how to dispose of his waste. While settling ponds are an option, Nebeker speculates that odor might pose a problem with this type of disposal.
"I don't want to affect my neighbors," he said.
Instead, Nebeker is working with Enviroclean in Jerome. Pending a permit modification, the waste disposal company should be able to treat Idaho Bio Product's waste, Nebeker said.
On Saturday, Nebeker likely will field additional questions about waste, water and traffic as he meets with worried residents.
"We need to know more information," Davis said. "There's just a lot of concerns."
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