Minneapolis nuisance odors How bad is that smell? June 4 . 2018
Odors • Odor is the most complex of our senses. • It can trigger strong emotional responses.
Odors are a local issue • Not regulated under the Clean Air Act by the EPA • Regulated by MPCA from 1970 until 1996 • MPCA regulates H 2 S and VOCs • Counties regulate feedlots • Municipalities address as nuisance laws
Current state in Minneapolis • 47.110. Public nuisance prohibition and abatement. (a) It shall constitute a public nuisance and be unlawful for any person to make, continue, permit, or cause to be emitted into the open air any dust, gasses, fumes, vapors, smokes and/or odors with objectionable properties and in such quantities as would be likely to cause discomfort or annoyance to a reasonable person of normal sensibilities that does one (1) or more of the following:
Odors are a nuisance if • Odors shall be deemed unlawful if one (1) or more air contaminants migrate from the premises from which it originated for a period exceeding thirty (30) minutes' duration and interferes with the reasonable and comfortable use and enjoyment of property
What is a reasonable person? • People respond differently to smells • People have different tolerances and thresholds • Very subjective • Smelling something is not a violation: how bad is bad? • Current SOP used to define what is bad
Field Olfactometer • Nasal Ranger • Concept developed by the U.S. Public Health Service • Brings in clean, filtered air and mixes it with target air at specific ratios. • Dilutions to threshold (D/T) • Nuisance level defined at 7 D/T • Certified noses June 4, 2018
Nasal Ranger June 4, 2018
Current ordinance • Odors shall be deemed unlawful if one (1) or more air contaminants migrate from the premises from which it originated for a period exceeding thirty (30) minutes' duration and interferes with the reasonable and comfortable use and enjoyment of property June 4, 2018
Proposed change • Odors shall be deemed unlawful if one (1) or more air contaminants migrate from the premises from which it originated for a period exceeding thirty (30) minutes' duration and interferes with the reasonable and comfortable use and enjoyment of property that can be confidently detected at a Dilution to Threshold (D/T) ratio of seven (7) dilutions of filtered to contaminated air or greater by an authorized City of Minneapolis staff member using a field olfactometer at the nearest point of human activity on an adjacent property with an initial observation followed by a second observation at least fifteen (15) minutes later within a one hour period . June 4, 2018
Proposed change • (1) Injures or are sufficient to injure the health or safety of any person or the public; • (2) Creates an obnoxious odor in the atmosphere as defined by 47.150; • (3) Causes damage to property; • (4) Creates a nuisance or hazard by obscuring vision; or • (5) Produces a deleterious effect upon trees, plants or other forms of vegetation. June 4, 2018
Point of Compliance • (b) Characteristics and conditions which shall be considered in determining whether an emission is discomforting, annoying, objectionable, obnoxious, or excessive for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this section shall include, but not be limited to the following: • (1) Proximity of the emission to the nearest point of habitation human activity; June 4. 2018
Summary Define what is a reasonable person standard using field olfactometery. • Change point of habitation to point of human activity. • Change odor duration 30 minutes to 15 minutes. • June 4. 2018
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