City Government
Insider Commodity Trading Stinks
March 20, 2008 
We posted a story January 8 NO AVIMOR POOP FOR BOISE regarding City Council plans for a policy to preclude poop from the Avimor planned community on Highway 55 north of Eagle.
Seems State and County officials approved Avimor’s plans to truck their poop to the Boise sewer plant after it is treated on site. They had apparently left Boise officials out of the loop.
When City Councilors got wind of the plan (from the GUARDIAN), they raised a stink and passed an ordinance preventing proliferating poop from being placed at plants in Boise. Part of the motivation was to slow the planned communities, but Team Dave was still miffed about the County approval of Avimor in the first place against their wishes. While the Councilors were distancing themselves from Avimor, Boise staffers were working with and for the “enemy.”
Turns out there was potential for some “insider trading” in the unpleasant commodity. A couple of Boise Public Works dudes have a moonlight business operating private poop plants in proximity to Boise’s public plants–including Avimor and Hidden Springs.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Mar 20, 2008, 9:40 pm
Nepotism is not tolerated unless you are a friend or reative… this is RULE #6 FOR LIFE as we all get to enjoy it.
Mar 20, 2008, 10:13 pm
Just one more example(in a long line) of our loveable Baboon and his band of chimps, not really calling the shots! Makes one wonder how many bids did the two insiders had to “compete” with for the job? Or maybe this is just a simple case of “You all didn’t REALLY expect me to keep all those promises did you?”
Mar 20, 2008, 10:24 pm
I don’t want to sound ungrateful as I enjoy reading and posting here, but I fail to see any new information on this story.
Team Dave stopped the Boise Sewer after the first article. The moonlighting has been well known also.
https://boiseguardian.com/2006/03/11/more_poop_on_sewer_plant.html
EDITOR NOTE–Clancy, we knew of the moonlighting, but NOT the Avimor connection–that is the new part. Ironic that while Team Dave is working AGAINST Avimor, his city employers are working WITH them. Just letting folks know.
Mar 20, 2008, 10:53 pm
Guardian scoop; Boise duped on poop loop.
I just couldn’t resist.
Mar 21, 2008, 2:11 am
How, and from whom, does one get a permit to operate a private poop plant? I assume (poor practice but sometimes necessary) that there is some liquid discharge (making a permit a big-time deal), unless by “private poop plant”, you mean a subdivision-sized septic system??
Sooooo, the owners of the private poop plants are getting business leads by virtue of their employment with the city, and since Boise did not want the poop, the private operators are processing it. My only issue with that is, if you have a full-time job, how do you have time to operate a whole other business, not to mention mow your lawn, do your laundry, spend time with the wife and kids, etc.
EDITOR NOTE–To clarify, the city guys have a business operating private on site “membrane filter” sewage systems for the developers. Approval to discard the filtered out poop comes from the county with approval of state EPA.
Mar 21, 2008, 9:05 am
The EPA is involved if there is discharge to surface water. This requires an NPDES permit for which EPA has primacy. If there is no surface water discharge, there is no EPA involvement.
If they are land applying water or sludge DEQ and the Health District are involved in the Land App permitting process.
Mar 21, 2008, 8:27 pm
Interesting that you cliam these dudes are “operating” the Avimor plant…since it has not yet been turned on. Care to expand or explain? Or correct?
EDITOR NOTE–Obviously they are not YET operating that plant as you well know. They have/are installing, managing, consulting, selling it. They do indeed operate others according to our source, including Hidden Springs. Correct us if we are in error.
Mar 22, 2008, 1:57 am
Gives a new image to the name “Hidden Springs” does it not?
Mar 22, 2008, 1:58 am
Help me here. How can a federal or state agency approve dumping poop in a facility owned and operated by a city’s taxpayers/sewer district members? They can approve the travel, of course, but can they approve the dump without Boise being a part of it?
EDITOR NOTE–The state guy (DEQ or EPA) approved the Avimor SYSTEM which depended on the solid stuff being disposed of offsite. He told the GUARDIAN, “That can go anywhere.” He approved the planned system because he was told the remains would be trucked to Boise– Boise councilors were unaware and passed the “No Poop” ordinance in February.