Following another sloppy week in which air quality was compromised on the Lynnway, Garelick Farms agreed to make necessary changes to mitigate the odors emanating from its plant or face a $1,000 a day fine.
An ultimatum was issued at a Friday meeting between Garelick officials, Department of Environmental Protection officials, Councillor Peter Capano and Lynn’s water waste management experts – which was called at the behest of the city’s Health Department chief Mary Ann O’Connor.
Both O’Connor and Capano said enough was enough.
Over the weekend, the strong odor remained a constant nuisance.
“The odor has not been eliminated. Unless it is eliminated by Monday at 2:00p.m., Garelick is to be fined $1,000 a day,” said O’Connor.
On Monday, O’Connor said Garelick appeared to be acting to put in place nuisance odor abatement systems as well as wrapping the gas tower.
The gas tower releases methane, which is believed to be the cause of a great deal of the odor.
DEP officials asserted that Garelick was indeed, creating a nuisance and that it was up to the city’s Health Department to make that call and for the fines to be levied.
In the meantime, DEP officials during a tour of the area off the Lynnway also inspected the trash transfer station and were apparently headed back there this week for further inspections and will be doing the same at Garelick Farms.
Garelick Farms was recently fined $15,000 by the DEP for the inadequate operation of its Franklin plant.
The issues there, like those in Lynn, concerned state air pollution control, hazardous waste management and industrial wastewater regulations.
The DEP reported that the dairy and beverage bottling company failed to operate its wastewater pretreatment system with the appropriate number of licensed staff. The company also stored waste oil longer than allowed and failed to adequately keep air quality reports.
Garelick agreed to comply with all the regulations and pay the $15,000 fine.
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Methane gas?? Hmmmmm...I lived next to a dairy farm and processing plant for 20 years and it NEVER smelled as bad as Garelick Farms! Check this out from eHow.com: Methane is nontoxic on its own but can become lethal when it combines with another gas. Methane causes asphyxiation by displacing oxygen. It may produce symptoms of dizziness and headache, but these often go unnoticed until the brain signals the body to gasp for air. This happens too late, and the individual collapses. Because of the lack of oxygen, the result is usually death. Methane is extremely flammable and will easily cause explosions. It can leak unnoticed into structures and spaces, and a tiny spark can ignite the undetected gas. Explosions from methane gas are extremely strong, and the damage is devastating. The explosions associated with methane gas are not limited to the space that has the highest concentration, but anywhere it has seeped. It may be in one room, or it can travel through an entire city block.