Citizens' Petition Prompts State to Enforce Hog-Odor Rule

by Michele Barlow

In late June, Wyoming's Environmental Quality Council denied a citizens' petition calling for stronger odor regulations to deal with the stench emanating from Wyoming Premium Farms' hog operation near Wheatland.

However, the state's Department of Environmental Quality promised to step up monitoring of odors from hog farms in both Wheatland and Albin. DEQ employees are now making unannounced visits twice a month between March and October, including one overnight trip to conduct a comprehensive odor survey outside of normal working hours.

During a July 31 odor survey near Wheatland, DEQ inspectors Glenn Spangler and Kristi Tarantola discovered that the stench from Wyoming Premium Farms exceeded Wyoming's hog-farm odor standard. In response, the DEQ issued a "notice of violation" ordering the company to correct the problem.

Wyoming's odor-control problems are certainly not unique. Across the U.S. and around the globe, odor nuisance has become a major environmental and health issue, accompanied by a growing awareness of the need for better ways to evaluate and control unpleasant odors and volatile organic compounds.

Over the next year, the DEQ will draft a comprehensive regulatory package addressing air and water quality issues associated with confined livestock feeding operations. We'll keep you posted.

Of the five human senses, our sense of smell is the most complex. During normal nose breathing, approximately 10% of inhaled air passes across the olfactory receptors - 10 to 25 million cells per nostril - located in the top of the nasal cavity. Chemicals in inhaled air may create an electrical signal that moves along olfactory nerves to the brain. The entire trip, from nostril to brain signal, takes as little as 500 milliseconds.

The olfactory system serves as a defense mechanism, generating an aversion response to malodors and irritants. Victims of foul odors often experience headaches, nausea, itchy eyes, sleep disturbances, an inability to concentrate and increased stress levels.

Thankfully, Wyoming law embraces the notion that citizens have the right to be protected from excessive odors.