One person’s offensive odor may be another person’s universal perfume. It’s all in the eye of the beholder — or in this case, the nose of the sniffer.
The Santa Barbara County Civil Grand Jury’s latest investigation and concluding report focuses on bad smells in the Santa Maria Valley.
For the uninitiated and newcomers to the area, the Civil Grand Jury is a government watchdog group made up of volunteers that investigates cities, districts and agencies throughout the county.
It needs to be said that such grand jury investigations have done a lot of good in the past, but the one targeting bad odors in and around Santa Maria is a demonstration of mastering the obvious.
Let’s face it, if you expose your nose to the outside air on many days in the Valley, that nose may wrinkle up in disgust. Folks just passing through on Highway 101 have been seen to quickly close their windows while simultaneously holding their noses. Driving up from down the coast, the aromas hit you around Clark Avenue, depending on the wind direction.
Long-time Central Coast residents have experienced Santa Maria’s unique aromas, and understand that it can be a combination of things.
For example, the keen-eyed observer will notice growing fields stretching almost to the horizon, mostly for strawberries but also a lot of broccoli, which has, perhaps, the most unique of odors and is often confused with sewage treatment plant emissions. They smell about the same.
The grand jury report makes that point, and adds other possible sources, including local oil industry operations. Wells can emit whiffs of hydrogen sulfide, which the normal nose may mistakenly interpret as rotten eggs.
We aren’t exactly sure why a grand jury would spend any length of time and effort on this odiferous matter, but there has been an increase in complaints from the public, so in a sense, the group is compelled to investigate.
The panel’s final report did pinpoint a couple of problems. First were the odors themselves, but more importantly was the general lack of official response to the smells. Knowing the grand jury was looking into the problem, the city of Santa Maria created a spot on its website for odor complaints, and the county already has a mechanism in place, via the Air Pollution Control District.
There also has been that quantifiable uptick in the number of complaints, in fact doubling from 2016 to last year. That makes sense when you consider how the Santa Maria Valley is growing. A larger population base equates to more noses to pick up the scents, thus increasing the potential for civic outrage.
But here’s the thing — it can be really tough to find the sources of offensive odors. You may find the area from which the offender is escaping, but there usually are several of the usual suspects to be considered.
The other point worth considering is that, in most cases, even if city or county officials find out where a specific odor is originating, those sources also usually are not breaking any laws or violating city/county regulations.
If you’re still on the warpath about odors, here are some numbers you can call: For pesticides, call the county Agricultural Commissioner’s office at 805-934-6200. If the offender involves dust or petroleum smells, call the Air Pollution Control District at 805-961-8800. For Santa Maria residents, call City Hall at 805-925-0951.
But we can tell you the same thing we would have told the grand jury before it launched its investigation — it’s best just to stay upwind.
June 18, 2018
Santa Maria Times
No comments:
Post a Comment