ST. GEORGE, Utah — A pungent smell described as a mixture of rotten eggs and sewage has been wafting through St. George's south side for several days, prompting city officials to take enforcement action against the Dairy Farmers of America plant in the Fort Pierce Industrial Park.
The co-op plant produces milk, ice cream and other products with the Meadow Gold, TruMoo and Crav'n brands. Workers and residents near the facility say the odor has been an ongoing problem for years, but recent weeks have been particularly severe.
"It's like a mixture of rotten eggs and sewer," said Jenny Bracken, who works at a storage facility next to the plant.
Bradford Smith works at a waste disposal company near the DFA facility that maintains portable toilets and trash.
As someone who should know, he compared the smell to walking into an uncleaned portable toilet.
“It completely baffles me and I've smelled some pretty horrendous stuff,” he said.
Mayor Michele Randall said the odor reached her home in Bloomington Hills, something she had never experienced before.
"I would rather spend August having a picnic next to the wastewater treatment facility. Yeah, it's worse than that," Randall said.
The smell originates from wastewater tanks at the dairy facility that are supposed to be treated daily with chemicals to reduce odors and prevent overflow. According to city officials and sources close to the situation, this maintenance has not been performed for weeks due to staffing changes that left the facility without proper supervision of waste maintenance operations.
Dairy Farmers of America currently has an open position posted on their website for a waste maintenance technician.
Bracken said her storage facility has received negative Google reviews solely because of the smell, and customers immediately comment on the odor when they arrive.
"It's always smelled, but the last three or four weeks have been horrendous," Bracken said. "The last three weeks, it's been the worst I've ever smelled."
The intensity and character of the odor varies depending on location within the city. Areas north of the plant reportedly smell like sulfur, while locations two to three miles away smell like an overflowing grease trap, particularly during morning and evening hours.
A similar incident occurred in August 2017, when city officials said plant managers were prompt in addressing the issue and no sanctions were imposed. Initially, city representatives gave a similar response this week, but Mayor Randall said Thursday that the city would not let the situation slide this time.
"I'm like, we have to escalate this. This is ridiculous," Randall said. "Code enforcement has given them 10 days to come into compliance or it will be escalated from there. Because this just can't happen."
According to a National Institutes of Health study, fumes from facilities like this are not toxic unless inhaled for extended periods within a yard or two.
Dairy Farmers of America did not respond to requests for an interview but provided a statement on Wednesday saying they are committed to correcting the issue.
Bracken expressed skepticism about the company's commitment to resolving the problem.
"For me to hear them say they're committed to figuring it out — where it's been like this for years — that doesn't seem like they're committed," Bracken said.
