Staff photo by Clay Schuldt German Street residents near the fenced New Ulm Steel & Recycling property might be relieved of the business's noise pollution after the company presented a mitigation plan in a Thursday public information meeting.
NEW ULM– A mitigation plan to reduce noise pollution at New Ulm Steel & Recycling will be implemented over the next few months.
The mitigation plan involves raising the height of NUSR’s fence and applying rubber matting to its feeder. The owners of NUSR hosted a special meeting at Best West Plus Thursday to meet with neighbors of the steel recycling business.
NUSR co-owner Neil Bryce said the special meeting was to meet with neighbors and answer questions.
“We want to invest in the community,” he said.
Neil Byce and Grant VanWingeeren took over ownership of NUSR on Sept. 1, 2021. Since the change in ownership, the city had received noise complaints associated with the business.
The city of New Ulm conducted surveys of the noise at the property on Nov. 8 and Nov 9 and confirmed that NUSR exceeded the noise pollution standards.
New Ulm City Planner John Knisely said there are statutory limits for a residential location. The first standard is whether a site generates noise above 65 decibels 10% of the time in a given hour. The second standard is whether a site generates noise exceeding 65 decibels for more than 50% of an hour. NURS exceeded both noise thresholds.
NUSR has previously cited a violation of the noise ordinance back in 2013. In 2014, the recycling center was approved to construct a fence around the property to reduce noise transfer.
NURS co-owner Neil Byce said the hours of operation for NURS had not changed with the new ownership. He acknowledged there was a greater demand for steel resulting in an uptick in steel processing. The northern section of the fence following the curve in the bike trail was constructed at eight feet. The fence following South German Street is 12 feet.
NURS employee Crystal Palmer said the mitigation would increase the 8-foot section to 10 feet. The exterior of the infeed shredder will also be covered with rubber matting to absorb additional noise.
The start date for the mitigation plan is dependent on obtaining the material and optimal weather. The improvements are expected to be in by Aug. 11.
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