If the winds are just right, residents of West Valley City can expect a foul smell to ruin their summer plans — again.
According to FOX 13, the city is experiencing a rotten odor for the second year in a row. Elena Watson, a resident of West Valley, described it like “a giant soiled diaper.” She said they are unable to be outside because the smell is so bad.
West Valley City Manager Wayne Pyle said the city believes the cause is a waste processing company near the landfill. However, the company is outside of the city limits and therefore outside of the city’s control. Pyle said the city has had meetings with the company, who have said they are making efforts to fix the problem.
“What’s not helpful is the company still, to this day, we cannot get them to actually say yes, we are the source and yes, we need to take care of this problem,” Pyle said.
West Valley City is currently trying to get Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and the state to step in and offer some oversight over the waste processing company. Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality told FOX 13 it did conduct an inspection, but found no non-compliance or other problems with the company.
“Nothing has really changed at all that we can tell… and that’s the frustration,” Pyle said. “We get a lot of cooperation in the form of talk and reporting and speaking about what we’re doing to try and mitigate the smell and take care of the problem. But nothing has changed.”
Last year, the city launched a “Smell Something, Say Something” campaign in order to identify the source of the smell.
“I’ve got complaints that say ‘I am literally moving from the city because of the smell and I can’t stand it anymore,'” Pyle said, adding he worries it will have an economic impact as the city’s northwest portion continues to grow.
Pyle asked for the complaints to keep on coming because they help build a case. He said he would not rule out a lawsuit.
“All we want is the problem solved, but if we have to do that? Yeah, we will look into that,” he said.
Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are content-sharing partners.