That Smell in Tangerine, Florida and Nearby Neighborhoods

  Nearly a year ago, the founders of "That Smell in Tangerine and Surrounding Communities" came to the conclusion that it was going to take a concerted effort to reduce the odor problems in our area.  We started out as Tangerine residents living primarily around Lake Ola and spread to Zellwood, Stoneybrook Hills, and as far North as Round Lake Road. The Tangerine Improvement Society had been encouraging members to call elected officials when there was an odor. We saw that it wasn't enough and nothing was happening to solve the problems.  It was time to step up the effort, so the Facebook page page was born on January 12, 2020. It gave residents a chance to share their experiences and to begin to reach the right people at the regulatory level. It wasn't all peaches and cream, though. At least one employee  of Shelley's Septic Tank and his/her friends were among the first members and they popped up and defended the sources of the smell, especially when it was relate...

This e-mail exchange was between a community member and someone from the FDEP (Florida Department of Environmental Protection) 12/14/2020 8:18 am On Mon, Dec 14, 2020 at 8:18 AM Boyles, Sean Sean.Boyles@floridadep.gov wrote: Good morning,   I received the odor complaint that you provided on December 11, 2020. I live in the area and make it a point to drive-by the WWTF in the mornings when I need to go into the office. On that morning I drove around the 4 borders of the WWTF around 6:00am in the morning. No odors from the WWTF plant were noted. I also drive down Pond Rd, which is just to the east of the plant, and observed a very light sulfur odor. And I drove to the entrance of the Stoneybrook development and no odors were observed. That afternoon I received two odor complaints. I drove back to the WWTF and noted no odors and then drove to the landfill and observed the odor from the morning.   Just to give you an update, the WWTF has been working with an engineer to resolve a...

  I was keeping an eye out for my friend and neighbor to pick up some Christmas gifts I'd made, so when I saw a car similar to hers across the street I ran out there. Well, it wasn't my friend, it was Dr. Kane of the FDEP who was making his rounds. He was following up on some recent odor reports.  We discussed the recent odor reports I'd submitted. The wind had been coming in from the North during these occurrences so that ruled out Monterey Mushrooms, Shelley's Septic Tank, and Anuvia which isn't running anyway.  That left the landfill, the Mount Dora Wastewater Treatment plant, and, news to me, a private lift station in Stoneybrook Hills. We discussed the nature of the odor in the recent reports.  I told him about Hubbard's application to be annexed into Mount Dora and those various members of the Mount Dora City Council that had visited the Hubbard Landfill unannounced and found nothing significant. He asked if these recent odors smelled of sewage and I told ...

 

This letter copied to us says it all. -----

This post contains letters from interested citizens regarding the Orange County Code Enforcement Hearing for Shelley's Septic Tanks on July 8, 2020, at 9 am. The meeting is being held virtually due to Covid-19.  Dear Magistrate, I'm going to share my opinion regarding Shelley's Septic Tanks and the associated businesses. The stench of human waste wafts over my yard from time to time, particularly on Sunday evenings and holidays. I have concerns regarding Shelley's Septic Tanks poor business practices. My concerns revolve around four general areas. The impact of known fecal odors on property values due to external obsolescence  a.   External obsolescence is a factor that reduces the value of a property due to something   external to the property itself and cannot be cured by the homeowner.   The impact of the upon the environment a.   According to the Consent Order  dated October 14, 2020, known problems include sediment tracking, poor h...