Albany citizens complain of ‘foul odors’ along Washington, Jefferson streets

ALBANY – Several Albany citizens say something foul is in the air in the city’s busy central district along Washington and Jefferson streets, and they point to a nearby recycling center as the possible cause of odors that they say sometimes are so bad they force residents inside.

David Dixon, a retired Miller Brewing Co. environmental engineer, said on muggy days the smell near Complete Resource Management on North Washington Street is so “overwhelming” people nearby, including a pair of day care centers, are forced to seek relief inside.

“I have smelled the noxious acid/fuel type odor along North Washington Street and at Jefferson and 11th Avenue as recently as Jan. 5,” Dixon, a Flint Riverkeeper Emeritus board member, said. “I am deeply concerned about the source of this air pollution and what chemicals it may contain, as my granddaughter attends the Phoebe Learning Tree Pre-K school a few blocks away. Whatever it is, it needs to stop, as it is affecting the quality of life of local residents and employees in this area.”

Resident Marla Edmonds said the smell is so bad it seeps into people’s homes.

“The odor is terrible—unbearable at times,” Edmonds said. “On some days, it’s so strong you can actually taste it, and it burns your eyes. When it’s at its worst, we try to stay inside. Neighbors have also complained, describing a strong chemical smell that seeps into their homes.

“There are two day cares in the immediate area, as well as a hospital very close by, that all have had either employees, caretakers or guests complain about this smell. It is deeply unfair that so many people — especially children, patients and staff — are forced to suffer because of the continued operation of this facility.”

But officials at CRM, located at 1701 N. Washington St., said there are no offensive smells associated with the plant that recycles organic materials for use in landscaping projects.

“We work with organic stuff, so there are at times ‘earthy’ smells associated with what we do, but not the kind of smells that are offensive,” Complete Resource Management Manager Whitcomb Barnhill said. “We don’t see it as odors; it’s more a dirt kind of smell. It never gets stinky.

“Now before the city had that big pipe burst around New Years, there were times while they were working down Washington that there were sewagy smells. That kind of goes with the territory with that kind of work.”

The city of Albany has been working on a $100 million-plus sewer/stormwater separation project along Washington and Jefferson streets for the better part of a year. And Assistant City Manager for Operations Bruce Maples said any recent odor issues may have been related to an issue that sprung up on Dec. 30.

“We haven’t had any complaints about odors in that area, although we did get complaints on Westover Road (in northwest Albany) when it got real cold last month,” Maples said. “Cold weather tends to keep gases closer to the ground, increasing the possibility of smells. 

“Around 10:30 p.m. on Dec. 30, we had an issue with a force main at Lift Station 26 where Oglethorpe (Boulevard) runs into Albany State (University). That force main is one of the busiest in the city; sewage from the northeast and northwest sectors of the city are carried through Lift Station 26 to the treatment plant.”

The issue was something of an anomaly, Maples said, in that it centered around a break in pipe that is rated to last 100 years, and the pipe is 15 feet under the ground.

“We couldn’t shut the station down during that busy time, so we had our people and a Jim Boyd Construction crew working 26 hours straight to try and contain the spillage. Finally, around 4 a.m., things slowed down enough we were able to shut down the lift station, clear away the sewage and make repairs.

“During this process, we had to send sewage into areas along Washington where manholes that are normally closed were opened. That’s the only thing, off the top of my head, that could have led to bad odors in that area. I can’t say enough about how our city employees and the Jim Boyd Construction crew stepped up to get this issue taken care of. They worked 26-27 hours straight, until around 4 a.m. on Jan. 1 to deal with this issue.”

Still, Dixon and others say the offensive smells likely are being created at CRM.

Naquesia Sloan, the director of the nearby Child Care Network day care center, said that while she can’t pinpoint the smells as coming from the recycling center, there are days that she has to keep children in her care inside the facility.

“I can’t say for sure these odors are dangerous or where they’re coming from, but it smells really bad, and it happens fairly often,” Sloan said.

A spokesperson for Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital said that while none of the hospital’s employees has complained about offensive smells that he’s aware of, a “couple of people have asked about unpleasant odors.”

Complete Resource Management H.R. Manager Fletcher Ogletree said he’s not aware of any complaints directed at the recycling plant in the 5 ½ years he’s worked there.

“There are certain aromas associated with organic material when it breaks down, and I’m not saying that people aren’t having issues,” Ogletree said. “But I’m not aware of any complaints being made. This company has always, since I’ve been here, done what it can to mitigate any issues that might arise.

“I can honestly say we do our best to be good neighbors.”

Maples said the city will readily respond to any future complaints.

“I am not aware of any complaints being made about this issue, but I will tell our citizens that if they’ll let us know if they encounter offensive odors, we’ll follow up,” he said. “They can reach out to us, and we’ll look into it to see if there’s anything unusual.”