That Smell in Tangerine, Florida and Nearby Neighborhoods

Good morning, It's been a while since I've posted on here so it's time for an update.  Orange County's odor reporting site is acting glitchy and kicking people off. It's weird, sometimes it works and sometimes not. Maria Repass of Orange County is checking into it. In the meantime, send her an e-mail at maria.repass@ocfl.net. FDEP's odor reporting site is working fine.  All of the odors reported recently are of the "poopy" variety according to the information I have. Anuvia is still closed. I sent an e-mail to Ashley Gardner recently asking her to let us know when they plan to reopen. Anuvia has to give them a 30-day notice to allow for inspections before they reopen.  Recent messages posted in the Facebook group include: Poopy sewer smell. Smelt that funk at 7:45 am, to funkin' funky. Terrible Manure smell at 8am when I woke up in Stoneybrook Hills I was awakened from a dead sleep this morning by a horrendous odor. I have bloodwork to be done tod...

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The Daily Sludge Report March 18, 2020 Zero Days Without A Smell Report Check back for updates as reports come in- Please note that reports are from a  voluntary Facebook group  and each  report also represents an unknown number of individuals who are also aware  of the smells that are permeating our neighborhoods. Thanks to  Christine Moore's  office, we are now able to document smell  occurrences on a digital file.   Please Help Me Get Rid of This Smell so I Can Do Other Stuff Other Business 1. I called Stephanie Daugherty of Lake County Environmental Health and discussed the smell problem. She was aware of the problem being in Lake County. I got her correct e-mail address. Stephanie.Daugherty@FLhealth.gov 2. I sent a copy of the Sludge Report to Kathy Marsh and thanked her for her efforts in getting up the map. 3.  This letter was sent to all of the usual suspects.   To all interested parties, The p...

The Daily Sludge Report Two Days Without A Smell Report Check back for updates as reports come in Please Help Me Get Rid of This Smell so I Can Do Other Stuff  We rate today as 5 breaths of fresh air! I knew that we were in for a good day when I saw that the wind was coming in from the North bringing clean, fresh air along with the cold. It was the perfect day to take the dog(s) out to play. Here are a few comments made on our group page today.  I’d like to take a moment to say that today’s wind is coming furiously from the northwest it seems and, although a pain for frisbee throwing [the dog is loving it.] It smells delicious! Go outside and enjoy, neighbors. Happy Saturday!!!   I was able to walk my dogs today! Why can't this be EVERY day? It seems that a lot of us have dogs. Mine is out on the back porch right now enjoying the fresh air. Two days in a row with the wind blowing south, I cannot believe how nice it is to be outside with...

Due to smell complaints this morning, I called the Mount Dora wastewater plant administrator and we talked about the plant by Stoneybrook Hills. (His number is 352-735-7151.) Richard was quite open and informative. There are two times that an odor can be detected, when the dirty water enters the plant and is aerated and when the tank with the sludge is emptied. The tank is emptied when its full and the process takes about 12 hours. He also mentioned that cold weather can hold the smell to the ground especially when there is low lying fog. (Temperature inversion) He is aware of the smells that are coming from Jones Avenue knew that they have permeated the city of Mount Dora at times. He welcomes the DEP to visit his plant at any time. I explained that I was doing my due diligence and didn't think it was his plant today. There is a possibility of re-routed the water as it enters the plant to remove that odor, but it could cost around $250,000 to make that change. He can al...

The Daily Sludge Report Zero Days Without A Smell Report It's a quarter after 2 pm here in Tangerine. It's a breezy day and I didn't detect any odors when I was out a little bit ago. My dog seemed to enjoy himself, while I raked a little bit. I'm still getting over my horrible spring cold so I'll be asking the group to report the presence or absence of odors as the day goes on. This post will be updated as the day goes on.  Weather Underground Windy (in Celsius) My Radar It was too good to last for long. This report is from Tangerine.  3:38 Sunday afternoon. Beautiful day at Lake Ola. The wind just shifted. I had to come inside due to the smell now coming my way. This report is from Renninger's Antique Market  No odors to document for me today coming or going from Renninger's. My nose radar turned on about 3pm on the property, but I'm unsure if I was imagining it. If it was for real, it was just a bit sulfurous, short...

The Daily Sludge Report It was a beautiful day today but a little cool. I didn't notice any odors in Tangerine when I checked but I did notice one as I drove North on 441 past the Stoneybrook Hills water recycling plant. A friend who drives by 3 days a week didn't notice anything but I think I passed it an hour or so after she did. Here's her report.  No smells anywhere today. Had my sniffer on high passing by Jones Avenue, nothing near mushroomland, nothing by 46, nothing at Renninger's. Very gusty today. It seemed to be coming out of the north/northwest at least at 4pm when I left. The air was breathable today. Here's the report that I got out of Zellwood. I drove through Zellwood on 441 today as well and smelled a kind of car exhaust odor that continued into Apopka. Here's the report on that.    My son just came to my house and said he literally wanted to throw up walking from his car to the house! He said, “It never smells like this in A...

There were no odor complaints today.  There was no rain, 73% humidity, and the dew point was 39°

I still have a scratchy throat but I'm beginning to back to normal. I was not pleased to learn that my irritated respiratory system could be more susceptible to viruses (thinking of COVID-19) that it would have been if I hadn't been exposed to the irritants we experienced on Tuesday. I was able to go outside today and play with my dog in the yard after I was done with all of the phone calls and e-mails that occur behind the scenes when running a FB page, a FB group, and a blog while answering questions while setting up a petition. My poor dog was just about to give up on me when I was finally able to break away and take him out. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is meeting with Anuvia on Monday and Shelley's Septic Tanks on Wednesday regarding violations. It was nice this afternoon while we were out in the yard. I was hoping for a good couple of days of fresh air and went to a meeting with my husband and shared our (the group's) progress and th...

Greetings, I created a petition to garner support for our efforts to have fresh, clean air in our neighborhoods once again. The text of the petition is posted below. I hope that you'll find it in your heart to sign and share to help us get the word out. If the hotlink doesn't work for you here is the URL http://chng.it/5SdVhKph24 Our local community, Tangerine, Zellwood, and the surrounding neighborhoods have been plagued with some horrible smells in the last few years.  There are a number of stinky businesses that have caused us to band together. We report the smell incidents in our Facebook group and send e-mails to our state and local officials when they occur.  The commercial above was filmed in Tangerine and should give you an idea of how natural this area is.    Despite our efforts, the noxious odors are getting worse. We are being held hostage by "That Smell." Some days it's so bad that we can't go out in our yards and, on the worst d...

Action Plan for Clean Air in Northwest Orange County Draft in Progress Who is at Risk From Poor Air Quality : Poor air quality can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat, cause shortness of breath, aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions, and affect the heart and cardiovascular system so everyone is at risk. Who is Most at Risk From Poor Air Quality :  Pound for pound, children breathe more than adults and are more sensitive to pollution. Their air passages are narrower, so it takes less inflammation or irritation to obstruct their airways. They also are more likely to have asthma or other respiratory illnesses, which are aggravated by air pollution. Seniors and Poor Air Quality :  Older adults may have heart or lung disease that puts them at greater risk. Diabetics are at increased risk in part because they also have a higher risk of underlying cardiovascular disease. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a representation of air pollution concentration levels...

Dear Ms. Repass and Ms. Gardner,  I am REDACTED and I’ve lived in Orange County’s rural settlement, Tangerine for 21 years, raised in Orange County for 68 years.  There have often been ripe aromas from time to time; mostly experiencing the horse bedding/soil used by the Mushroom plant. With a nearby animal cemetery, we apparently have smelled it.  Only in the last maybe two years have we endured pungent, obnoxious human waste smells. These odors affect our quality of life, interfere with enjoying breezes through open windows or sitting on a front porch or back screened porch. Walking the dog is unpleasant when human waste smells waft our way.   Tangerine is a bird sanctuary. We chose to live in a rural neighborhood because of fresh air and wide-open spaces, starry nights and sun soaked days. The smells of late are diminishing that life quality and I fear if not solved, will diminish our property values.  Our government leaders owe taxpayers a safe...