SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Homeowners Say Smelly Plant Offensive

Residents of an upscale neighborhood want a nearby composting plant shut down, saying it emits a strong odor that has made life outdoors unbearable at times.

“I think we have rights as homeowners to smell clean, fresh air,” Melanie Anderson said.

The company operating the plant, Browning-Ferris Industries, has until Wednesday to submit a plan to the county showing how it will fix the malodorous situation, which residents contend has affected up to 500 homes on the eastern edge of the city.

Some of the houses--less than a mile west of the composting operation--cost between $400,000 and $500,000. Residents enjoy equestrian trails and other trappings of rural living.

“Granted, we live in the country, where there are odors,” Anderson said. “But there is a difference between horse manure and this pungent odor.”

Ben Larkey, project manager for the plant, said the company intends to remedy the composting smell.

The plant has been in operation for about six months and is refining its operations, Larkey said.

Several residents met last week with officials from the county and Browning-Ferris Industries, a Houston-based company that is leasing 10 acres on La Pata Avenue for the composting site. The company handles about 200 tons of yard waste per day.

County officials say that if the odor problem can’t be resolved--or a health risk is discovered--the plant’s permits will be revoked.

So far, county officials say, there is no evidence to suggest that the plant presents a public health hazard.

“It’s more of an obnoxious odor,” said Patti Henshaw, supervisor of the solid waste program for the county’s Environmental Health Department.

Henshaw said there are three other composting businesses in the county, but none are as close to homes as the La Pata Avenue site. The other composting businesses are in the process of getting permits, Henshaw said.