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11*.� N.J WE ARE AWARE THAT THE DOUMA DAIRY IS A FACT WHICH WE CANNOT HOPE WILL DIS- APPEAR BUT WE WISH TO PROMOTE SOME SYSTEM FOR MINIMIZING THE TERRIBLE ODOR. OUR QUESTIONS: 1. If there is not something wrong with the Douma dairy sanitation and disposal sy em why do we not have the same in e sity of odor 24 hours a day? eedf 41C.- 2. Why do the dal lidnFagers not acknowledge this odor? (They surely must smell it. ) 7? _ 11W 1 r. i!f 3. A group of our committee visited Verberg Dairy on Hart Road in Modesto and walked within 10 feet of their pond and the odor was entirely different. It in no way was as obnoxious as the odor from the pond. on the Douma dairy pro- perty. We drove within 25 feet of the Douma pond when we returned from the Verberg Dairy on Saturday Seotember 14, 1996 at mid afternoon that same day. Why the difference? 4. Mr. Verberg suggested the separator at the Douma pond might not be working properly. He also stated it could result from the feed given the cows. He said certain-feed, such as tomato refuse and whey amoung others, could cause that odor not only from the feeding areas at the dairy but also from cow refuse. Did the Environmental Health Department inspectors pursue these possibilities when our residents complained? 5. We asked Mr. Verberg about containing the methane gas (which Mr. Borges said was the source of the smell) . He said that the State had attempted to do just that in an effort to sell it. He said it was not cost effective since the market for the gas was not competitive with the price of gasoline and other fuels. We would propose that it be burned as they did in Oakland at their sewage treatment plant. Have you investigated this solution? The burning appeared to eliminate the odor in Oa'.kland. 6. Would the odor be less intense if Mr. Douma used all fresh water for the automatic cleansing? We would presume the recycled water comes from the re- fuse at the pond. 7. Would the odor be less intense if the pond were moved to the far North/West area of the property? 8. We have many dairies along Kasson Rd. to the West of Douma's dairy. Ncne of of them has this particular obnoxious odor. Dairy smell is not appealing but not nearly so sickening as the odor we are getting. How do you account for this? 9. Modesto residents are complaining about the terrible odor from the Modesto Tallow Plant. Reasonably understandable is the company's position that the homes were built around an already existing tallow plant. Our position is much the same reversed. Our homes were here first and the dairy was estab- lished without our knowledge or opportunity to protest. So what is our recourse? What is your solution?