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Polk County announced in a news release Wednesday that BS Ranch and Farm has to pay $11,000 “per day for each of eight days on which off-site odor violations were substantiated to be emanating from their property,” the county release reads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The business can appeal the decision, and it has 10 days to notify the county of that intention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Owners Bill and Brandy Stanton would not respond to comment by The Lakeland Gazette deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Bill and Brandy Stanton have threatened the Lakeland Gazette with a lawsuit for posting the truth about BS Ranch and Farm in the past. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s get the facts straight —- The facility reprocesses human (shit) waste, mulch, and out-of-date food products into organic agricultural products. RIGHT?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Organic agricultural products?? —- it\u2019s really not organic — it\u2019s a biosolid which should never be used in planted crops for humans to eat. But we know that Bill and Brandy Stanton sold this biosolid concoction to strawberry farmers in and around Plant City. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBS Ranch and Farm produces this soil using fruits and vegetables, septage and sewage then generate money from selling the soil and accepting the waste using above-ground ponds with no liners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have been other biosolid plants in Polk County but not like BS Ranch and Farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In January 2019, when the county hit BS Ranch and Farm with a violation, their attorney said that the business had been treated unfairly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This is a witch hunt prompted by one or two disgruntled business owners for reasons unknown to us,\u201d she said. \u201cThe allegations are unfounded. People are relying on social media and other unsubstantiated sources to accuse and harass my client.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2017, Brandy Stanton told The Ledger that BS Ranch and Farm wasn\u2019t the cause of every bad smell in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow every time someone smells a smell they\u2019re going to say it’s BS Ranch and Farm,\u201d Stanton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several residents of the Dawn Heights community, less than a half-mile from the business, say the stench continues to disrupt their quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“We can’t take it anymore,” James Wilson said. “You can’t even work in the yard. It’s horrible. The stink is so bad that I’ve thrown up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Polk County Commission, in March 2017, voted 5-0 to seek a cease-and-desist order for the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The county was entangled in a lengthy legal battle with BS Ranch over the next year over the offensive odors allegedly caused by the facility\u2019s operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under a December 2018 compromise, BS Ranch was allowed to continue operating under stricter oversight with a new site plan. Part of the agreement was the facility would be found in violation of its conditional use permit if more than eight \u201cverified legitimate complaints\u201d occurred over a three-month period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The business was hit with the code enforcement violation in December 2019, which was settled by a magistrate judge Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n