Sludge Watch ==> Sludge Milford, New Hampshire The Full Story

[Steve Smith]

http://www.cabinet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070517/ABOUT/70517001
The full story

By Daymond Steer
Published: Thursday, May. 17, 2007



MILFORD, NH — Every morning Penny Arsenault sticks her head out the back 
door of her home on Spruce Street, prepared for a horrible odor from the 
town’s wastewater treatment plant.
A few minutes later she drives by the plant to get to work at Hollis 
Elementary School.
“I do my own little air quality test,” said Arsenault. “It tells me what 
to expect as I get closer to the plant.”
Arsenault isn’t alone. Several people who work at Lorden Plaza say they 
smell the stench coming from the plant at 564 Nashua St.
So Arsenault created a complaint form for business owners in the area, 
hoping they will mail it back to the town’s Wastewater Department.
Some complaints have already been received by the department, which is 
in the process of commissioning a Concord consulting firm to find the 
cause of the smell and recommend ways to correct the problem. The final 
report is expected in August.
Arsenault is pleased that the Waste Water Department is taking action.
“When air smells like that it can’t possibly be healthy,” she said. 
“It’s a good thing they are going to take some steps, and the public 
pressure is being felt.”
The consultant’s report will cost sewer users $15,000, said treatment 
plant superintendent Larry Anderson. He believes the smell might be 
coming from compost piles. In 2005, the town built a roof to cover the 
compost, and when the wind blows the odor blows out all at once. The 
compost is sludge that has been mixed with wood chips and it’s sold as a 
fertilizer. In April the plant processed 63,000 pounds of sludge, 
converting it into compost.
The roof was installed to keep the compost dry because when it gets wet 
it takes longer to process.
“We don’t feel there are any health-related effects in regard to the 
odor,” said Anderson. “We understand it is offensive. We don’t want to 
just throw money at the problem. We want to address the issue in the 
most effective way.’
The study will include an odor survey of the area around the plant.
During the interview at the facility, the smell was no worse than 
visiting a farm, and there was a whiff of odor at Lorden Plaza.
Business owners at Loren Plaza told The Cabinet they noticed the smell 
for years and expressed relief that the town was trying to fix the problem.
“There are days it can be really bad,” said Sharon DuPont, owner of the 
Clothes Closet. She has to close the doors when the smell is at its worst.
Desiree Watts smells it from her home in Heritage Estates and when she 
works at the Dollar Store. Watts says she moved into Heritage Estates 
eight years ago and has smelt it ever since.
“I wake up to it every morning; it’s disgusting,” she said.
Shaw’s Supermarket manager Chris Poulin said his customers and staff 
have complained about the smell.