April 13, 2020
For
Zellwood, Tangerine, Surrounding Neighborhoods
April 13, 2020
Hot off of the Press
Please continue to call and e-mail about your concerns regarding this issue.
ZELLWOOD, MT. DORA AND TANGERINE ODORS UPDATE
April 13, 2020
As part of Orange County Government’s response to complaints concerning objectionable odors in the Zellwood, Mt. Dora and Tangerine areas, we are providing updates as new information becomes available. This is a complex issue and both Orange County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) are investigating, providing compliance assistance, and pursuing enforcement actions to address the odors and bring local facilities into compliance with county and state rules, regulations and permit requirements.
Latest actions and information
Anuvia Florida LLC:
- Orange County’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD) issued a Consent Agreement to Anuvia on March 13, 2020, for violating multiple air permit conditions including objectionable odors. The company was fined $6,500 in civil penalties. Several of the corrective actions required to obtain compliance have been completed. The remaining corrective actions include measures to improve odor control systems to eliminate objectionable odors.
- FDEP issued a Consent Order to Anuvia on March 6, 2020, citing objectionable odors and requiring that corrective actions be taken in connection with its wastewater permit. The company was fined $1,500 in civil penalties and assessed $500 for costs and expenses incurred by FDEP during the investigation. Anuvia has committed to implementing several actions in the order to come into compliance within a specific timeframe. Many of the actions are focused on improving the performance of the biofilter, which plays an important role in reducing odors emitted from the plant.
- Shelley’s Septic Tank, Inc. (dba Shelley’s Environmental Systems):FDEP issued a Consent Order to Shelley’s on March 24, 2020, regarding wastewater permit violations that involve mainly odors, and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater permit violations (multiple issues). The Order included penalties and fees of $8,712 and required the company to develop an odor plan as well as a plan to develop and implement stormwater best management practices within 60 days. Shelley’s was requested to respond within 20 days.
Orange County’s Code Enforcement Division has issued a series of violation notices to Shelley’s. A March 5, 2020 compliance deadline regarding building permits and site requirements was not met. As a result, a Special Magistrate hearing has been scheduled for July 8, 2020, at the County Administration Building, First Floor, 201 S. Rosalind Ave., Orlando, 32801.
• Orange County’s Environmental Protection Division issued an Air Quality Non-compliance Letter on February 19, 2020, citing objectionable odors. An enforcement meeting between Orange County and Shelley’s is expected to occur by early May 2020.
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| GPITA is owned by the Shelleys |
GPITA, LLC:
- FDEP and GPITA agreed to (executed) a Consent Order on April 7, 2020, regarding yard trash. The Order included $1,000 in penalties and $250 for costs and expenses incurred during the investigation. GPITA has 180 days to remove or reduce the cited yard trash.
- EPD issued an Air Quality Non-compliance Letter on February 19, 2020, citing objectionable odors and requesting information outlining what measures will be implemented to prevent future reoccurrence. An enforcement meeting is expected to occur by early May 2020.
- Orange County Code Enforcement Division issued a Code Violation Notice on February 4, 2020, citing non-permitted uses. The violation notice indicated that applications for special exceptions should be submitted immediately. To date, a reply has not been received. A Special Magistrate hearing is scheduled for July 8, 2020, at the County Administration Building, First Floor, 201 S. Rosalind Ave., Orlando, 32801.
- Other Investigations:
- Based on a complaint received regarding Industrial Container Services - FL, LLC as a potential source of odors, EPD conducted a site visit on March 9, 2020, but it was determined to not be a likely source of objectionable odors at that time. The site was generally in compliance with air quality regulations and is not a producer of hazardous waste.
- An EPD inspector regularly visits the area where odor complaints have been received to monitor the situation and document conditions.Contact the Orange County Environmental Protection Division values your input regarding this situation. Please contact us at EPDcomplaints@ocfl.net, call 407-836-3111 or dial 311 from your mobile device to ask questions or provide us with odor information. For odor reports, please be prepared to describe the characteristics of the odor you experienced, and include the date and time, weather conditions, location and other observable details of the event.
A Note From the Editor
Written by an Admin of That Smell in Tangerine and Neighboring Communities
Yesterday was an especially smelly day in Tangerine and surrounding communities and neighborhoods; it was downright brutal. I know this is all very upsetting to everyone. Orange County and FDEP are aware of the situation and have already written citations and consent orders to companies that are not in compliance with environmental regulation.
The most helpful thing that everyone can do on days like yesterday and days to come is to call and write emails/letters to Orange County Government officials and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Let these officials know what neighborhood you live in, what you smelled, when you smelled it, and how it made you feel. Did your throat get sore? Did you get a headache, did it make you nauseous? If you have a Weather App let them know what direction the wind was blowing. The message can be as simple as that.
A list of contacts for these organizations is provided at the bottom of this blog post. There is a long list of names with emails and phone numbers to correspond with. Start out with Ashley Gardner (FDEP), Maria Repass (Orange County), and Orange County District 2 Commissioner Christine Moore.
If everyone communicates to our government, we all benefit. The County and FDEP need data from as many different people in our communities as possible, not just a few of us. I am about to get on the phone with Maria Repass and Ashley Gardner (FDEP), and probably a few more.
This is our community. We need to preserve our quiet way of life in Northwest Orange County by speaking up. Thank you for your support.
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12:30 pm I called all 3 numbers Mrs. Kitty posted this morning. Was only able to speak personally with Denise. I left this message for the other 2 after identifying as a Tangerine resident: “I’m calling to ensure you know Mrs. Breed doesn’t just speak for herself. She speaks for dozens of Tangerine and surrounding area citizens fed up with this situation. I need you all to know we are all fed up with not being able to enjoy the homes and neighborhoods we live in, especially now that we are all home all the time. I want to also make you aware we are all prepared to become more active on lobbying for the resolution of these issues.” There is strength in numbers so, I would encourage everyone to do the same.
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12:35 I just sent an email to Orange County and so far Maria Repass sent an acknowledgment that she read it. Let's see how she or anyone else responds.
Reply1: Same here...she's the only one that responded!
Reply2: It takes Ashley Gardner of FDEP a while to respond but know that every e-mail creates a record. There have been fewer responses since the pandemic started as people are working from home with limited IT support. It was a long time before I got an e-mail from Maria, but she's more responsive lately. Even so, she was very much aware of our issues. We've had a couple of nice phone conversations.
Reply3: However one I got an out of the office that was very similar to the ones our employees are using that are on Furlough. I have to expect some of that right now. “Objectionable” - I really hate that term. It makes it sound like something that could be dismissed as a nuisance.
Reply4: True that. They need to take a field trip on the right day and it will be imprinted in their brains for the rest of their lives.
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I grabbed these screenshots from the Orange County Property Appraiser's website. I think it explains why the smell is so bad on Lake Ola Drive and Willow Street. The bend in the road on Willow Street is very, very bad when it's bad on Lake Ola Drive. I made this to try to show how having tall, leafy trees planted behind Anuvia might help with the smell to some degree.
Reply2: Trees are not going to help. They need to make serious changes as I believe this is definitely a detriment to one’s health!
Reply3: I don’t know. We’re on that circle by the 448 symbol. We have 26 trees on our lot alone and it does not help.
Reply4: Does Holly Estates get hit with the odors?
Reply5: Yes.
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The wind was coming from the south today. I took a walk and there was a smell but it smelled more like livestock. I welcomed it - I’ll take horse shit over Anuvia any day! The funny thing was as I was walking a Shelly’s Septic truck drove past me. I didn’t know they did residential work.
Reply: I hate to laugh, but your statement sums up just how bad it was yesterday. If I don't laugh, I'm going to cry. Yes, Shelley's does residential. They put in our septic tank before all of this crap started. We don't dare use them now.
OP: Laughing is part of my stress management.
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Letters Written by Members
Hello,
It's 1:53 am on Easter Monday. The stench in our neighborhood is overpowering. I tried to take my dog out a bit ago and he wouldn't go out. The smell is a 12 on a scale of 1-10. When I came in I had a five-minute coughing fit.
There is no way that Anuvia can be following any of the mitigation suggestions that FDEP has given them. The entire neighborhood had a ruined Easter holiday. I'm sure that you'll be hearing from some of them soon.
We are quarantined and cannot even go out in our yards when it's this bad. We need immediate intervention so that we won't lose our minds. We cannot live like this.
Please do something. Now.
Best regards,
REDACTED
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Good evening,
I live in Tangerine and at this point wish that I did not. For MONTHS we have been living with horrible odors and air that is not safe to breathe. The problem is created by Anuvia and Shelley's Septic. Some days it smells like someone dumped a load of poop in your yard and other days it is difficult to breathe outside. My throat burns horribly and I go into coughing fits that are horrible. Dr. Phil Kane witnessed one of these coughing fits one morning when he was parked in front of my house witnessing the smell. I was going to get in my car to confirm that Anuvia was operating.
I cannot for the life of me understand how you are continuing to allow this to happen. We have a right to be able to breathe the air surrounding our homes and enjoy being outside. Why can't we get air monitoring devices set up in our area to show how unfit the air is that we are breathing? Are you afraid of what the results would show? Come on people, this is OUR LIVES that are being disrupted. None of you live in this area but I am sure that if it was your neighborhood, this would have stopped long ago! I urge each and every one of you to spend one week living in this area.
Today, the holiest of days when we would like to spend time with our families even though the groups are much smaller right now. were we able to be outside? ABSOLUTELY NOT! No egg hunts for children, no cooking on a grill and no family fun outside.
Elected officials should have their constituents' best interests in mind, however, it does not appear that way to us in Tangerine. How was Anuvia allowed to build their plant without any input from us and how are they allowed to continue to poison our air when they have admitted that they are? It is quite obvious that their only interest is the mighty dollar, they were operational today!
I do not know what we need to do to get clean air in Tangerine but I can assure you that we are fed up and our patience has been worn down to nothing.
PLEASE do your job and get this under control NOW.
Sincerely,
REDACTED
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Hello,
April 12, 2020, was a brutally smelly day in Tangerine. Many of our residents complained about the smell and had to retreat to their homes. Having fresh air outside is important to physical, mental and spiritual health during the current COVID-19 social distancing and stay-at-home orders. This is an urgent health issue during a pandemic.
I have attached a log, both pdf, and .docx formats, of smell events that have occurred at my location since February 26, 2020. This log is in the format Ashley Gardner sent to me a few weeks ago plus a few added data points. I look forward to the new electronic complaint form that Maria Repass notified us about this morning. It will certainly be helpful.
The bottom line is that the burned chemical/fertilizer smells coming from Anuvia and the sewage smells from Shelley’s are disruptive to daily life in Tangerine and the surrounding communities of Northwest Orange County. We understand that consent agreements have been signed, or will be shortly, but we need to breathe now.
Thank you for your time.
Best Regards,
REDACTED
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Of Note
The e-mail list for complaints about the odors is below.
If you e-mail no one else, e-mail the first 5 listed below.
EPDcomplaints@ocfl.net
maria.repass@ocfl.net
ashley.gardner@dep.state.fl.us
robert.spivey@ocfl.net
david.smicherko@FloridaDEP.gov
Katherine.Marsh@ocfl.net
mayor@ocfl.net
elizabeth.roby@ocfl.net
phil.kane@dep.state.fl.us
chris.testerman@ocfl.net
district2@ocfl.net
daniel.vanegas@ocfl.net
jon.weiss@ocfl.net
maurice.barker@dep.state.fl.us
david.jones2@ocfl.net
bradley.campbell@OCFL.NET
jennifer.moreau@ocfl.net
joel.prinsell@ocfl.net
erin.hartigan@ocfl.net
kelley.rose@ocfl.net
shally.wong@ocfl.net
Wanda.Parker@ocfl.net
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