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...

The text of a recent e-mail chain to a Mount Dora city official regarding the odor and the response. Please note that many residents have complained and this is just information from one resident.  December 4, 2020 Dear Mr. Grusaukas, I had to go to CVS in Mount Dora last night at 10:00 p.m.  I was traveling north on 441 and when I got to Stoneybrook Parkway there was a horrible sewage smell, even with the car windows up.  When I got to the top of the hill to the water plant the smell was enough to make you gag!  I continued to smell it all the way to Renningers.   45 minutes later when I was returning home and traveling south on 441 the stench was still there.  I cannot believe the poor residents of Stoneybrook are subjected to this.  What is wrong with the water plant?  I travel to Leesburg all the time and go right past their water plant and it never smells.  Mount Dora’s water plant is also an eyesore!  It is covered in black mold an...

  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 ...

 

  Bless Crissy's heart, it's 6:13 am and she replies to my FB post in 3 minutes verifying that there is a known problem.  *In the wee hours of the morning when I typed this, I titled it "Northwest" which was incorrect. I fixed it when Tangerine's premier analytical mind pointed out to me what I'd done. Fixed.

  I attended the Mount Dora City Council meeting last night for the sole purpose of following up on the landfill and odor complaints we have when the wind is coming in from the North. One thing I noted right away is that simply bringing up the odor brought a lot of attention (in a good way) to allow the annexation of the landfill into Mount Dora. The landfill isn't the end-all, be-all cause of the odor problems at Sullivan Ranch It can reach a height of 205 feet and that would make it the highest elevation in the city when it reaches maximum capacity (it would be attractively landscaped and be tiered) A landscaping buffer is planned between the landfill and Sullivan Ranch within the next year or so (no definite dates) Several citizens and council members toured the landfill and only one noted an odor and that was in only one section Our questions brought out other issues such as planning and zoning concerns The facility would provide revenue to Mount Dora in the form of a portion o...

Via Maria Repass of Orange County's Environmental Protection Department Orange County Government is responding to complaints concerning objectionable odors in the Zellwood, Mt. Dora, and Tangerine areas and providing updates as new information becomes available. Working together on this complex issue, Orange County and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) are streamlining complaint processes, investigating odor concerns, providing compliance assistance to potential source facilities, and pursuing enforcement actions for violations of regulations and permit requirements. Latest actions and information • Residents continue to use Orange County’s online reporting form to submit odor complaints. Between August 24 and October 1, 2020, the County received 40 complaints concerning objectionable odors. Anuvia Florida LLC: Anuvia, FDEP, and the Orange County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) executed (signed) a Consent Order (CO) on July 21, 2020. The Order a...

  Dear Mr. Sandersfeld, It is my understanding that Mid-Florida Materials (dump) has requested that the City of Mount Dora annex their property.  It is also my understanding that this issue is to be voted on at the city council meeting to be held on Thursday, September 24, 2020. I was wondering if you could advise me if the city will aggressively deal with the problem of the odors emanating from the dump as a condition of the annexation.   I live on Lake Ola Drive and we have had problems lately with odors from the dump.  We reported this to Lake County and when their person came out to investigate he basically said he did not believe us, that the odors could not travel this far and that he was not going to write a report.  This was told to my neighbor who had tree trimmers working at her house at the time who also verified that they could smell the objectionable odors. Our area has been vigorously fighting severe odor issues with Shelley's Septic and Anuvi...

  The dump on 46 that has been the source of recent smells in our area is about to be annexed by Mount Dora! The annexation is scheduled for the Mount Dora City Council meeting on Thursday, September 24, 2020 at 5:30 p.m. We need all able bodies to show up at the city council meeting to show opposition to the annexation of the dump! Please go to the city council meeting if you are available! Thank you in advance! Below is a comment typical of those we get from nearly residents who have lived with the smell of this dump for years. It's much worse in the Sullivan Ranch area than it is in Tangerine. There are many others but it's 5:30 am and I went to bed after midnight so I'm stopping here.  - First thank you for accepting me in this group, second I wake up to that aweful smell as well I live in Sullivan ranch, I’ve been here for about 8 yrs and it has gotten worse over the yrs. I’m hoping it gets resolved what can I do to help it along? Please come to the meeting. We cannot ...

Daniel from Commissioner Moore's office responded almost immediately to the e-mail I sent yesterday.  So we responded immediately as well.  We also got more information about the location. The dump is located in Lake County but smell knows no boundaries so we can smell it in Tangerine on occasion.  I'd like to extend special thanks to the Facebook group members who helped me get the address and information for Commissioner Moore's office. 

You'd think we'd get a day of relief around here but apparently, it wasn't meant to be.  The odor of today is one of the fetid fecal variety.  Today's complaints: -  At the gas station at 441 & Sadler. Horrible sewer/poop smell. While I was pumping gas, another customer, not from this area, asked me if I could smell the smell. I briefly explained the issue. . (Smell successfully submitted to OC and FDEP reporting sites.) - Tried to report the smell to the county, the website still not working! Sending an email to Maria Repass of Orange County EPD. [ maria.repass@ocfl.net] - I had that problem yesterday. - I wrote yesterday and will continue to write every time it doesn't work.   -  It let me get all the way to the end before it dropped which was happening before and I did not realize it wasn't working -    That's exactly what it did to me. - Horrible poop smell! We have been complaining about this since February of 2019! When are they going to...

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...

  Please note that GPITA is wholly owned by the Shelley Family Business

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

The air in Tangerine and the surrounding neighborhoods have been free, for the most part, of the stink of Anuvia since mid-June. We can't rest too easy though, because Anuvia has plans to sell a lot of fertilizer in the future.  The latest update on Anuvia from the Orange County Environmental Protection Department indicated that they had been shut down since June 3, 2020. Anuvia has stated in the past they plan to ramp up production in the fall for the Spring 2021 planting season.  According to Total Landscape Care , Anuvia hired a new vice-president to " lead Anuvia’s efforts to build existing retail and distribution alliances while seeking to create new customer partnerships to further advance the sales of SymTRX, Anuvia’s bio-based, sustainable fertilizer." Anuvia is currently working with the Mosaic Plant in Plant City to utilize their space for fertilizer production while continuing to produce fertilizer [there.] This is general knowledge in the indu...

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...