The Monday work - completed at 3 p.m. - came after a two-day, holiday halt to trucking the material offsite to a Republic-operated landfill.
But hours after the announcement Monday, Point residents began complaining the familiar noxious smell was flooding the Point again. Similar complaints came in Tuesday morning from around Point Richmond. Several residents complained - as they have in the past - that the fumes were causing headaches and throat irritations.
Republic spokeswoman Bielle Moore said Tuesday morning that operations crews from Republic - including Doug Brewer, Republic's environmental manager - were working to determine the origin of the smell.
Since early fall, Republic has removed a 360,000 cubic-foot pile of compost-gone-bad off its property. The last of that material was gone before Christmas. The material removed Monday had been scheduled for regular composting. But company officials opted to remove it in case it had turned sour also.
The removal of the massive amount of raw compost this fall has prompted hundreds of citizen complaints to air quality officials, Contra Costa County Health officials and City of Richmond Code Enforcement. Nearly all of the reported incidents of noxious smells and fumes have come during times when the wind has been blowing from the north.
A new composting system - unveiled at two community meetings - is on line and is currently in use processing compost, Moore said. The company believes this new, forced-air system is much less likely to produce any of the odors that have plagued the Point since September.
Moore was fielding phone calls and email queries from Point residents for most of the morning.
Republic is scheduled to give the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council an update Wednesday, Jan. 25 on the new composting system and other activities.
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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Contra Costa County's Lori Braunesreither, Department of Health
EMAIL: Lori Braunesreither.
Nicole Ewing, Richmond Code Enforcement (510-621-1591)
Bielle Moore, Republic Services community affairs managerPHONES: (510-262-7547 or 510-205-4908)
Email: Bielle Moore
2 comments:
Who received emails from Republic Services on Monday stating that they had completed their work? I live in the Point, pay for their services, have lodged several complaints, and yet I never received any such notification from them. It would be nice to have clarification on who received this email and why? Can you also please post this correspondence for all to see? Thank you!
I believe the names came from a list collected by Republic Services at its community meeting at Kaleidoscope Coffee in Point Richmond. I would suggest that you contact Bielle Moore directly.
Here is the text of the email from Ms. Moore sent late Monday afternoon:
"Dear All,
I am so happy to report that we removed the last of the odorous material today! I would appreciate it if you could let your neighbors know as I don't have emails for everyone. Please let me know if you have any questions ~"
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