Is Moncton's north end smell a health hazard? Councillors call for study

Two Moncton councillors are calling for an air quality study over continuing complaints about smells wafting over the city's north end neighbourhood.

A motion introduced Monday calls for the city to hire a consultant to carry out air-quality testing and speak to residents to determine if their health is being affected. 

Councillors Bryan Butler and Dave Steeves, who represent the area, introduced the motion that will be considered at a meeting on Aug. 21.

"Our residents just need to have some answers and we haven't been able to get them from the province," Steeves said in an interview. "So we're going to go on our own and get those."

Butler said they're tired of waiting for the province, responsible for air quality, to act.

"There doesn't seem to be any get up and go to go get this looked after," Butler said in an interview. "I mean, this has been going on for years."

The motion follows complaints about pungent smells. 

A previous investigation by the provincial government pointed to a sewage composting plant run by TransAqua.

It also determined Rayan Environmental Solutions could be a source of a smell in the north end, but "of different nature" than the one from TransAqua. 

Rayan Environmental, which recycles metal and glass off Berry Mills Road, also had to submit a plan to the province to address its smell.

The company did not provide an interview. A spokesperson sent a written statement that it has an odour management plan developed by a professional engineering consulting firm and works with the province when complaints arise.

Butler said he has recently noticed a more chemical smell than the other one he associates with TransAqua.

Province seeing fewer complaints

The province's environment department did not provide an interview Tuesday about the council motion. 

Vicky Lutes, a spokesperson for the department, said in an emailed statement that there has been a "significant reduction in odour complaints" about TransAqua since it implemented an odour control plan last fall. 

Lutes said the department continues to receive periodic complaints about Rayan and is continuing to monitor the situation to ensure it complies with its operating conditions. 

Steeves said some residents are tired of filing complaints.

"People are tired of reporting it because they don't think anything's getting done. They don't think their voice matters," Steeves said.

TransAqua was required to take steps to address the smell and has implemented several of those steps. 

However, Steeves and Butler say the complaints continue. 

"Whatever is going on up there, it's not working," Butler said.  

Butler said the motion was driven by a meeting with residents late last month where they questioned whether there are health risks related to the smells.

Kevin Rice, TransAqua's general manager, said he wasn't available to comment on the motion. 

The TransAqua compost site has been operating since 2005.

Rice has said that upgrades at its wastewater treatment plant in Riverview have led to a significant increase in material trucked to the composting site.

Among the steps the utility's board approved last year was an expansion of the composting facility to handle more volume. It also purchased land outside the city to store excess material. 

Butler said the air-quality study, if approved by council next month, will help determine what action should come next. He's unsure how long it may take to get results.

"We have to find out if it's unhealthy for them to breathe this," Butler said.