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Amalgamated Sugar urges more DEQ capacity, workforce support and tort reform
Summary
Christina Hardesty of Amalgamated Sugar Company described the cooperative's scale, byproducts and three legislative priorities—more Idaho DEQ capacity, workforce development through Idaho Launch, and tort reform related to product labeling and liability.
Christina Hardesty, vice president and general counsel of Amalgamated Sugar Company, told the Idaho House Agriculture Affairs Committee that the company — a cooperative owned by about 700 growers — contributes more than $1 billion annually to the Idaho economy and is pressing lawmakers for increased Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) capacity, workforce support and tort reform.
"We contribute over $1,000,000,000 annually to the Idaho economy," Hardesty said, describing the co-op’s ownership by growers and the company’s role in processing sugar beets raised mainly in southern Idaho. She said Amalgamated operates three processing facilities — including older plants in Twin Falls, Paul ("Minicasia") and Nampa — and takes in roughly 7,250,000 tons of sugar beets during harvest each year.
Hardesty told the committee that DEQ staffing shortages are delaying permit reviews for routine plant changes and upgrades. "Because of their staffing shortages, the last 3 to 5 years, we've noticed a truly significant delay. I'm talking years delay to get permits and the issuance of environmental permits," she said, adding that the company has incurred consultant costs to advance permit modeling while waiting for agency action.
She outlined Amalgamated’s priorities for the legislative session: increased funding to IDQ for permit and staffing capacity; support for Idaho Launch and other workforce efforts to recruit tradespeople such as welders and electricians; and support for tort reform to limit liability when companies comply with federal and state labeling requirements. On tort reform, Hardesty said the measure aims to protect sellers that have complied with mandatory warnings from certain failure-to-warn suits: "If I, as a seller of cigarettes... I can't be held liable for failing to warn when I have warned you," she explained, using cigarette labeling as an example of a required federal or state warning.
Hardesty also described byproducts and processing: Amalgamated produces white sugar, brown and powdered sugar, pressed and dried beet pulp used for cattle feed (about 800,000 tons annually), molasses (about 350,000 tons) and a molasses byproduct called CSB used in animal feed and as a deicer. She said the company employs about 2,500 people at peak harvest and reported an annual payroll of roughly $141 million.
Committee members asked questions about product equivalence between cane and beet sugar, unionized staff levels and environmental impacts of CSB used as a deicer; Hardesty responded that "sugar is sugar" chemically and provided the company's best available figures for employment and byproduct volumes.
The committee wrapped the hearing after the presentation.
