FORT SMITH, Ark. — Residents have filed a lawsuit against a water treatment company after a reported foul stench in the River Valley area since August. On Dec. 2, residents gathered to discuss a newly amended complaint to that lawsuit.
It’s since been confirmed the odor is caused by the Russellville-based company Denali Water Solutions emptying a storage lagoon in Crawford County. The scent has since traveled to Sebastian County.
However, this isn’t the first time this has been an issue in the area. Bruce Spinas, the owner of River City Bistro in Fort Smith, said he first reached out to fix this issue years ago.
"I sent a message to an attorney in 2019 just asking if we could stop it," Spinas said. "A couple of days later, we did hear that it was going to be over really quick, that it would go away and it would be closed and gone forever."
Five years later, Spinas filed a lawsuit against Denali because the lagoon never actually closed and the scent was affecting his business.
"When this smell started hitting really hard, we couldn't use the outside tables," he said. "That financially hurts us. And all restaurants have vent hoods in the kitchen, so a vent hood has makeup air, and it pulls in all of that foul-smelling air on top of my kitchen staff."
Residents in the area and local elected officials gathered for a "Stop the Stink" town hall on Monday evening.
Joey McCutchen, a trial lawyer in Fort Smith representing Spinas and River City Bistro, said another defendant has been added to the lawsuit.
"Not only Denali, but also SSS of Crawford County, LLC, who to our understanding is the owner of the pit," McCutchen said. "They profit from the number of gallons that are dumped into this pit."
Trucks carrying that waste travel near homes, and the wind carries the smell to other areas in the River Valley, McCutchen said. For that reason, McCutchen said his goal is to make the lawsuit a class action.
But, there could be a solution to the problem with a patent from one local business.
"It is a dewatering process. It takes the water out of the skimmings that come from production plants," Richard Kuper, a researcher with Kenrich Industrial Dehydration, said. "It would really revolutionize the disposal of this product at this time so that there wouldn't be this issue of the smell."
Kuper said he has spoken with Denali, and they are interested in the patent. We reached out to Denali Water Solutions for an interview and did not hear back.
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