Orange County landfill cited for foul odors affecting Irvine residents
An Orange County landfill has been cited for foul odors after Irvine neighbors complained about the stinky smell.
"We cannot open the windows," Irvine resident Monica Fontao said. "We can't open the sliding door because the smell is so, so bad."
Fontao said the odor from the nearby landfill comes early in the morning and at night, especially during Santa Ana wind conditions.
Regulators from the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued three violation notices to the Frank Bowerman Landfill, which is owned and operated by Orange County. The AQMD said it's in response to complaints about sour garbage-type odors.
"It's almost like you open up your trash and smell comes out," Fontao said. "It's permeating all throughout. You can't escape it. You go to Woodbury Town Center, you're smelling it. It's everywhere."
Fontao lives in the Portola Springs community, a couple of miles from the landfill. Homes are being built around the solid waste dump that opened more than three decades ago.
Landfill director Tom Koutroulis said the county will comply with the AQMD regarding the complaints.
"This landfill was built and established back in 1990, and back then we didn't have residents, but now we do," Koutroulis said. "We're doing everything we possibly can to mitigate any impact associated with our ongoing operations."
Koutroulis said crews are using drones to monitor and manage odors and gases emitted from the buried trash. All complaints sent to the county are forwarded to the AQMD. In nearby neighborhoods, several people we talked to didn't notice any smell. Fontao has heard the same from some of her neighbors.
"Some of them didn't even notice," she said. "How do you not notice it? It's so noticeable."
Koutroulis said the odors "tend to be seasonal," and that the landfill is implementing some changes to mitigate the smell.
"What we're doing to address that is the use of the misting systems and also the commercial fans with neutralizer as well," he said.
The landfill operators are waiting for permits from AQMD for a new system to control the odors and gases