News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The Decorative Panels International plant in Alpena sits on the shore of the Thunder Bay River and Lake Huron on Monday. The plant is the source of a foul odor that has raised the ire of residents. On Monday, the Alpena Municipal Council went into closed session to discuss possible litigation regarding the plant and the smell.

ALPENA — The Alpena Municipal Council went into closed session Monday to discuss possible litigation against Decorative Panels International over foul odors that have emitted from the plant and infuriated residents this summer.

There was no action or discussion on the matter when the meeting returned to open session.

The smell has raised the ire of local residents, who claim it impacts their way of life and living conditions. An investigation traced the source of the odors back to the plant, which was cited by the state.

The severity of the odors, and where they spread, is also impacted by wind direction.

Last week, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Air Quality released a violation notice citing DPI for creating intolerable and overwhelming odors, which the state department says it caused during the production process.

The state has given DPI two weeks to file a report explaining the causes of the odors and the actions the company has taken and will take to remedy them.

The odors spread through the city and were extra rough on residents on the north side who live close to the plant.

Investigators from EGLE also found what they described as overwhelming odors emitting from the plant’s retention lagoons, which, when the wind is coming off Lake Huron, spreads the foul smells.

Inspectors described the odors as strong enough to be overpowering and intolerable for any length of time. A series of recent complaints have described the odors as resembling sweet burnt wood, sewer water, and rotting cooked cabbage.

Inspectors did not detect the smells upwind.

The smells riled residents who quickly took to social media to voice concerns and prompted calls to city hall and council members.

On Aug. 5, some residents gathered in front of city hall in hopes the city would put more pressure on DPI to rectify the situation.

Last June, the state issued a “Level 3” violation against DPI when the business was discovered to have several piles of decayed bi-product waste on its property that had to be removed.

The violation resulted in the state sending letters to DPI ordering the company to fix the problem. The official who identified a smell source at DPI on Friday said the incident will be classified as another Level 3 violation, probably triggering more letters requiring remediation.

IN OTHER BUSINESS

The Alpena Municipal Council on Monday also:

∫ voted 3-2 to approve goose hunts in the city as part of the goose management plan. Hunting the birds is only one of the ways the City tries to control the population of the waterfowl, which litter local parks and yards, and can be hostile toward humans.

∫ voted 5-0 to amend its mute swan management plan to include the removal of adult mute swans from the local mute swan population.

The mute swans are invasive and a threat to the environment and wildlife locally. Local, state, and federal officials say if the population of the mute swan is lowered, the number of trumpeter swans should rise. Trumpeter swans are native to the area but have been bullied out of the wildlife sanctuary by the mute swan.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.