Biofuel company in Barrio Logan ordered to install odor system

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SAN DIEGO — Neighbors in Barrio Logan spoke up at a public meeting Thursday about how their lives have been impacted by the heavy odor emanating from operations at New Leaf Biofuel on the corner of Newton Avenue and Sicard Street.

"It's gotten worse over the last three years, you know, even the taste of your food is different, you know, you get sick to your stomach. There's no sense of comfort." said Peter Colon, who lives across the street from the plant. "We have to suffer over here. An organization had to give me an air purifier for my home. And every morning I wake up, it's polluted outside."

Colon called in to the meeting held by the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, which has been working to implement new odor reduction measures, which can't come soon enough for neighbors in the area.

"It's an issue of health and welfare," said Colon to members of the board. "I have shortness of breath at times, nausea."

During the 3-hour meeting, a spokesperson representing New Leaf Biofuel talked about their company mission.

"We started the company with the mission to make a positive impact on the world by displacing petroleum by doing that on a local level by improving the air quality by making biodiesel," said Jennifer Case with New Leaf Biofuel.

The company has been in business for over 12 years, taking in used cooking oil from about 2,000 local restaurants and turning it into low-carbon biodiesel, which is then sold as an alternative to petroleum diesel. During the processing of the used cooking oil, a two-stage screening process removes large items like bones, rags, cutlery, gloves, or large food scraps, for example.

"The removal of these large items is not conducted in a sealed environment, which can lead to odorous emissions being released and is the main source of the nuisance-causing odors," said Mary Mahoney, member of the Air Pollution Control District.

The district has received 22 complaints about the odor over the past year and during that time, they’ve conducted nearly 60 odor surveys.

"The odor has been described as an awful, sour, vinegary type odor or as a vomit-like odor," said Mahoney.

Maria Cruz Gonzalez lives on Newton Avenue across from the plant in an apartment building for seniors, and she says the smell keeps getting worse.

"Very strong, nothing we can do with this stink day after day," said Gonzalez. "From three years ago until now, it has gotten stronger, much stronger."

The district has issued three notices of violation to New Leaf Biofuel, and they’re now requiring a new odor reduction system to be installed by December 9.

"They claim that what they’re doing is producing the environmentally friendly fuel," asked Colon. "But at what expense?"

The County's Air Pollution Control District will hold a special virtual meeting on November 17 to evaluate the company's progress with installation of the new odor reduction system.

WATCH RELATED: 'We can't move any place else' | Barrio Logan residents sick of bad odor coming from New Leaf BioFuel (Oct. 2022).

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