Neighbors fed up with stinky situation in Adrian

ADRIAN, Mich. (WTVG) - 400 complaints is what an egg processing facility in Adrian, Mich., has received in the last two years or so because of the smell.

That resulted in numerous violations from the state. Neighbors living nearby just want this stinky situation to just go away.

“Rotten eggs, sewage, combined. It’s hideous,” said Adrian resident Kurt Mohr.

That’s how neighbors of Crimson Holdings on East Maumee Street in Adrian describe the egg-drying facility that only started working with eggs after Crimson bought it in 2021. Before that, it worked with processed milk. The current process turns the dried eggs into pet food eventually.

“I knew nothing about it. It’s bad. My neighbor gets sick from it, gets headaches,” said Mohr.

That smell really developed midway through last year, and neighbors complained more than 400 times to the state. Some even came in the last 24 hours.

“This number is considerably high. Most are from near the facility or at the northeast side of Adrian,” said Jill Greenberg with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

That agency has cited this facility six times for the smell, the most recent in March when state investigators verified an odor. A seventh citation was for issues with the modification of the stack.

“Yes, there were issues, and there are issues with odor, and I will address those,” said Chad Benson, the COO of Crimson Holdings.

Benson says when the company quickly took over the plant in 2021, they needed to make significant changes, for example, the venting was horizontal. They had to reconfigure it vertically.

He says they have met with state inspectors several times and continue to. That’s in part because last year the state began escalated enforcement.

Supply chain issues have made parts scarce, but Benson says fixes like a taller stack and an odor-neutralizer system with scrubbers are on the way.

“That was ultimately where we wanted to go. We just need to make sure whatever we do will ultimately solve the problem,” said Benson.

“I don’t plan on opening the windows. I’ll have to run the air conditioning, which is going to get pretty expensive,” said Mohr.

That’s the best neighbors can come up until a fix is completed.

“Yes, there are odors. Yes, we do have a plan to significantly reduce those with a big capital deployment and the technology to do that. It is going to take some time,” said Benson.

When the state and the company come up with a plan, the public can have input. That input will be added when the final draft is completed.

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