DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — The city should tighten wastewater treatment rules on industry as a way to cut long-standing odors that are sickening Moraine residents near the city of Dayton's sewer plant, the Ohio EPA says.

The review of sewage problems follows an October meeting of Moraine city officials and residents. The residents, including business owners, said overwhelmingly strong odors coming from Dayton's Wastewater Treatment Plant are making them nauseous and hurting the bottom line at area hotels and hospitality businesses.

The stenches vary from rotten egg and ammonia to raw sewage.

Most complaints are down wind within a half-mile east of the plant at 2800 Guthrie Road. Dayton city officials said they intend to follow many of the state's recommendations or are refining others.

OEPA found that Cargill, a manufacturer of corn syrup, corn starch and other food products, releases large amounts of waste that create hydrogen sulfide when it travels miles underground in the sewer system, an important factor in the odors. The waste travels about eight miles from Cargill, 3201 Needmore Road, to the sewer plant.

Nuisance odor complaints from around the sewer plant "are becoming more organized and it appears that Dayton will need to pursue formal mitigative efforts that will likely have some focus on Cargill's discharge," Matt Walbridge, an environmental specialist with the OEPA's Division of Surface Water, told the city in a December letter. The city needs to do a full-scale investigation on the Cargill discharges, Walbridge said in an interview.

Moraine City Manager Dave Hicks said that Holiday Inn and the Mandalay Banquet Center have complained about the odors, as have residents. "We need to get a resolution," he said.