FORT SMITH -- The manager of an organic residuals recycling company operating in Crawford County apologized Friday for the fetid air that has wafted through the city over the past several days.
Jason Golden, general manager of Russellville-based Denali Water Solutions, wrote in a letter Friday to Mayor George McGill that the smell drifting in from a lagoon in the Crawford County bottoms east of Van Buren will soon be gone.
"This issue is being resolved," McGill was quoted as saying in a city news release Friday. "The lagoons are being drained and cleaned. Soon, it will be going away forever."
Golden said the lagoon was being used to store organic residue from food processors until it could be turned over to farmers to spread on their fields as fertilizer. The lagoon is between Arkansas 59 and Hollis Lake.
The company is closing out the lagoon and started removing the residue Jan. 9. There was no way to avoid the stench, the letter said. The company chose to remove the residue in January, when fewer people are outdoors because of the cold and when winds typically blow to the east, away from Fort Smith.
The past several days winds have blown in the opposite direction, sending the smelly air through Fort Smith. The city has gotten hundreds of phone calls, emails and other messages from residents complaining about the stench and demanding that something be done.
The release said McGill contacted state authorities, who put him in touch with Denali Water Solutions. The company agreed to stop its residue removal at the lagoon for the next few days so the smell could dissipate and give the winds a chance to shift away from the city. Winds were out of the northeast Friday.
"McGill is quick to point out the work is lawful and permitted by state environmental authorities," the release said.
The company said it needed two more days to finish residue removal, after which the lagoon will be closed permanently, according to the news release.
State Desk on 02/04/2019