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After months of neighbor complaints about dust, council approves Schouler replat but warns operator on enforcement
Summary
The City Council approved a replat tied to a special-use permit and the Crushing It recycling operation after neighbors described months of illegal crushing, dust and truck traffic. Council members and planning staff stressed that further violations could lead to revocation of the permitted use.
The Omaha City Council on March 18 approved the Schouler Replat (items 16 and 17) that is tied to a special-use permit for recycling and crushing operations, despite extended public testimony about significant dust, truck traffic and alleged operations that ran without required air-quality oversight.
Neighbors including John Senowicki described months-long operations last year that they said included concrete crushing, heavy dust plumes and repeated violations of dust-suppression promises. Senowicki told the council he saw “the dust bowl of Sheelytown” in 2024 and reported video and photo evidence to city staff.
Operator response and city oversight: Lance Paulson, CEO of Crushing It, acknowledged the complaints and said the company had mismanaged dust suppression at the start of operations: “Clearly, we did not operate very well. ... Our dust suppression ... was not working. We had a…
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