Can someone help me with this?

I live close to an oil distribution plant: big oil tanks filled by big boats; trucks come in to fill up with varying types of home heating oils.

Their vapors waft into my neighborhood way too often: at least 3X a week. I call them all the time to report their pollution, and they are always nice about it and they always stop what they are doing (which is usually some dickwad truck driver trying to fill up his truck too fast or without cleaning it out first). The smell eventually disappates, but I am left with a nice migraine and nauseous as hell.

Today I called them and the supervisor told me that "they are not breaking any environmental laws", but that there is a city ordinance against nuisance odors that they are breaking. They again sent the offending truck driver packing w/o his load.

I thought that nuisance odors that move beyond your property was pollution, and that there are laws to protect us agaisnt this sort of thing?

What can they be doing to contain their vapors and what can I do to protect myself? I can't be taking so much pain medication because they can't monitor how the truckers are loading (or how the boats are off-loading).

Today, the supervisor is contacting their corporate office with this latest complaint, but I think it is just going to keep happening. Afterall, I've been complaining for 4 years now and it still happens.

Any thoughts about what I can do to change this situation? I don't want to move, but I can't take the odors anymore.

Take it to the streets, missy!

If there's really an ordinance, why not report them to the city? If there isn't, I don't know what you can do other than buying a Sharper Image air filter or moving. Or you have to convince this city or the plant owners to address the problem, but that's going to take an impressive publicity campaign.

I'm already on a first anme basis with the public health worker assigned to this plant (they had some big trouble before I moved here). I've stopped calling her in favor f going right to the source. It gets the odor resolved quicker.

I have an air filter...but also a very very old house with very very old windows.

I have been considering papering my neighborhood with the contact names for this plant so taht more people can call and complain. I think my single voice is not really getting heard past my 10 minute conversation with them.

I don't want to move

Call both. Call everytime. As a former call-center supervisor, nothing moved us into action like people who won't leave us alone.



This is a very good idea for the same reason.

Call the City. Then go to the very next Planning Commission and City Council Meeting. You to go up the ladder if there is not any ordinances. Go to the City Council. Send them emails and call them. Be nice.

Try to get the media involved, hopefully they will jump right on it and before long, you'll have the support of everyone!

but what about the laws? are they breaking any pollution laws when their noxious fumes leave their property?

I've never heard of that, but that doesn't mean there isn't some kind of local statute.

How do you enforce that? How do you prove that their smell was in your space? I suppose there are air quality studies, but it seems unlikely. You're gonna know your community better than most of us.

I prove their fumes were in my space by calling my buddy at the health department. She comes out, sniffs in my neighborhood and I have a witness.

The local statute against nuisance odors I suppose is the one thing I should rely on, but again, I call all the time and it never changes. I expect that after my extra big complaint today, my neighborhood will enjoy some clean air for about a month, but then it will go back to the same old story: the supervisors will relax their vigilance and I will get sick again.

Maybe I will call the local newspapers (good thought, thanks!)...though honestly, the newspapers in my area are not so liberal as you might think. I don't think they would care about this one iota...not if there are not any terrorists trying to blow up the tanks.