WEST JORDAN, Utah — Residents in West Jordan are fed up with a foul odor they say is coming from the Dannon yogurt plant.
Maurie Vance created a petition on change.org, urging city, county and state officials to work with residents and Dannon to find a solution to the smell.
She describes the smell as being obnoxious and says it is at its worst during the fall and winter months.
“It’s like a sour milk, dirty diaper — disgusting,” Vance said.
The petition has received hundreds of signatures.
“It gags you so much, you don’t go outside. You run back into your house,” said West Jordan resident Dana Grandy.
The plant is located on 6165 Dannon Way, near W. 9000 S.
Residents claim the stench has been an issue for years and they are unhappy that it continues. They want public officials to do more to eliminate the odor.
“If they could live here and see what it’s like in the evenings, the decision makers that could do something about it, they would do something about it,” Vance said.
Alan Anderson, a West Jordan City Councilmember who represents the district where the plant is located, says it’s up to the county to regulate things like noise and smells that have no barriers.
“We’re having dialogue with them. We are talking with them. They want to be responsible. They want to be a good neighbor,” Anderson said.
Dannon was awarded an Environmental Achievement Award by West Jordan leaders and Utah Governor Gary Herbert in February, “for their leadership and innovation in minimizing their environmental impact,” a West Jordan Newsletter stated.
Dannon released the following statement on its factory:
“We are committed to being a good neighbor and we take our community responsibility seriously. We appreciate the concerns that have been expressed and continue to evaluate and address the situation, including the source of the odor and ways in which we can help further address it. We have already taken significant strides in that direction, including the building of a waste-water treatment plant in 2011. We are in touch with the Mayor’s office to keep them informed about our progress and steps we’re taking.
The root cause or causes have not been identified, as this type of treatment plant is a complicated system with both mechanical and biological variables, and there are potential sources of the odor beyond our facilities alone. It bears noting that, since we installed the waste water treatment plant, odor issues have decreased while production volume has increased.
We also more recently installed an odor control system that converts a natural blend of essential plant oils from a liquid to an odor-neutralizing vapor. The vaporization distribution system delivers the odor neutralizing waterless vapor into pipe orifices around the perimeter, treating any nuisance odors on contact. We continue working to implement and continually improve modifications like these, which we expect will further improve the odor situation.
As we anticipate continued growth, we will strengthen the operational performance of the current water treatment plant and continue to monitor and make improvements on all fronts.”
