The Town of Berlin has been working with the owners of a food processing plant in town to curb odor and noise issues.
Michael Lemanski, Patch Staff
Town of Berlin
BERLIN, CT — The big stink about Berlin's big stink appears to be lessening, with both the town and a local food processing plant continuing to work together to address noise and odor worries.
In recent months, odor and noise issues at Bright Feeds have been a cause for concern in the community, prompting Bright Feeds and the town to work toward a resolution.
Those solutions were discussed in depth last week at an April 30 Berlin Town Council forum with Bright Feeds officials.
Bright Feeds operates a food processing plant at 76 Fuller Way, Berlin, and, last month, it began installing necessary equipment to make the plant less stinky and quieter.
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The company takes food waste and turns it into animal feed for agricultural uses, but many folks claim that the process comes with a stinky and noisy price.
Berlin Mayor Mark Kaczynski and the council hosted a public information session to provide an update on ongoing efforts to mitigate odor and noise issues at Bright Feeds.
In addition, Bright Feeds Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Fife attended the meeting and outlined the steps the company has taken to address these concerns.Those include:
• Odor: In mid-April, Bright Feeds completed the installation of a Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer (RTO).
The installation was observed by representatives from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
Since becoming fully operational, the RTO has reduced particulate emissions from the facility by approximately 98%.
As a result, the offensive odors previously reported by residents have significantly diminished, the town wrote in an announcement.
The town, in coordination with state agencies, will continue to monitor air quality and odor levels, but at this time, the situation appears to be substantially improved.Noise: To address ongoing noise complaints from Bright Feeds, the town retained SH Acoustics, a sound engineering firm, to conduct comprehensive testing.
"While their initial analysis found that Bright Feeds was compliant with the town’s noise ordinance during daytime hours, they would not be under the stricter nighttime regulations," wrote the Town of Berlin.
As a result, Bright Feeds implemented a series of noise-reduction measures, including the installation of sound blankets, custom wool insulation on pipes, and silencers on multiple nozzles throughout the facility, wrote the town.
Following these improvements, SH Acoustics conducted follow-up testing on April 28, and confirmed that the facility is now fully compliant with the Town of Berlin’s noise ordinance during both daytime and nighttime hours, Berlin officials said.
The full report is available at berlinct.gov.
"Town and state officials will continue to monitor noise levels, but current data suggests the issue has been effectively addressed," wrote the town.
• Next Steps: The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) and DEEP are currently analyzing dryer stack emissions data collected prior to the RTO installation in January.
This analysis will support a human health risk assessment.
Once the testing results are available and analyzed, they results will be made public.
DPH has committed to hosting a public meeting to review the findings with the community.
"Bright Feeds continues to work with the town and state agencies toward a full resolution," wrote the Town of Berlin.
"The company has reaffirmed its commitment to addressing community concerns and appreciates residents' continued patience and engagement."
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