The stench that emitted from the city’s sewage lagoon has been mitigated following its February return due to a waste spill at Prairie Farms.
The lagoon receives wastewater from the Prairie Farms plant on Veterans Memorial Drive.
Back in February of this year, a valve on the rear side of a Prairie Farms tanker truck was over-tightened and employees were unable to get it loosened at first while unloading. Subsequently, the valve accidentally came apart and gallons of spoiled milk were drained into the sewer system leading to the lagoon. The city underwent conversations with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) and Prairie Farms about the spill and determined the process of minimizing the stench would take 60-90 days.
The city began doubling up on treatments, adding sodium nitrate and enzymes that broke down the milk. Now, the milk in the lagoon has been fully broken down, and the smell is no longer lingering over the city streets.
Prairie Farms’ contract with Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) expires August 31 of this year, and the city is working alongside Prairie Farms, MDEQ, engineers, and environmentalists to determine a new permit that will end long periods of a stench and hold Prairie Farms accountable if one were to occur again.
Kosciusko Mayor Tim Kyle said the city has already met twice with Prairie Farms and MDEQ to determine a plan of action to ensure the stench does not return again. Kyle said Prairie Farms has been continually making improvements since the spill.
“They are making a lot of improvements to that plant — to the amount of water that they use to go into the lagoon and the washdown. They have assured that they will continue that practice, and that's that stuff that we're working out that we will have in a new permit,” said Kyle. “Really, right now, you just basically have a gentleman's agreement that they are not going to put anymore in (the lagoon) as far as their packaged waste. That will be in a contract now. They will be required to make sure that it's hauled off. This is no guarantee that there will never be a spill, but now MDEQ will have limits that they can hold them to.”
Kyle said MDEQ also recommended that the city form its own separate contract with Prairie Farms where the city can hold them accountable. Details of the agreement are still being discussed before anything will be finalized.
“That’s all to be worked out, and we're working on that right now. Their environmental people are working with our engineers, so we're working toward a solution on this,” said Kyle. “Like I said, in the past, we didn't have problems with the past permit until three years ago. We were already in that permit. So, now we're going to have a new permit.”
Kyle said he appreciates Prairie Farms for the business they bring to the community and the people they employ, but the stench must get under control moving forward.
“The last thing we want to do is put those guys out of business. There are about 150 families that depend on that income from there, and that's a good business that we have here. But we can't have that stench either. I mean, that's quality of life. I hate it as bad as everybody else. I live less than a mile from that lagoon and I smell it every day too when it's bad. So, all that is underway. We've been working with MDEQ, we’ve got engineers working on this, and we’ve got environmental people working on it. So, we hope to come back with a good permit that is suitable for them but does put some limits on them. Nothing that is going to put them out of business, but something that is going to help our citizens in the meantime. We just can’t have it like it was in the past.”
The city has saved $3 million of its American Rescue Plan funding to dredge the lagoon and remove sludge from the bottom and sides of the lagoon.
“We're planning on spending around $3 million or so to dredge the lagoon. So, if there ever was a spill, we will hopefully not have that sludge at the bottom that would turn over. We are doing everything we can to alleviate this deal. Plus, I think once we get this thing dredged, we get these new limits in place with Prairie Farms, and we have a contract with them, unless we just have some kind of event that's unseen, which we shouldn't — I’m saying shouldn’t; it doesn’t mean it won’t — (have the stench again.) But hopefully, this will alleviate this problem, and that's a major concern to us and all the citizens.”
