Pepperell Town Sues Property Owner Over Noxious Fish Composting Odor
Quick Look
The town of Pepperell, Massachusetts filed a lawsuit against a property owner for operating a fish waste composting site that residents say emits a nauseating, dead fish-like odor disrupting daily life; after cease-and-desist letters failed, the town levied $300-a-day fines, but both sides agreed to a temporary injunction requiring the owner to halt operations and remove waste by September 28, with fines suspended until then.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Pepperell’s zoning regulations do not permit composting sites without a state law exemption, which the property owner did not obtain before launching the fish waste composting operation.
The odor of “dead fish” emanating from a Massachusetts property is so intense that the town has resorted to legal action, according to a new report.
A lawsuit filed this summer targets a 20-acre property in Pepperell — located on the New Hampshire border — where the owner recently launched a composting operation that, per a complaint, includes fish refuse such as skeletons, crabs and shells, Boston.com reported.
The heaping piles of organic waste have created smells that area residents have characterized as “nauseating,” “wretched” and “overwhelming,” with some saying the stench has disrupted their day-to-day lives.
“I would describe it as the worst smell you get at the seashore, with the low-tide dead fish kind of smell,” Andrew MacLean, the town administrator, told the outlet. “You get a whiff and it’s like ‘Oo.’”
MacLean said he’s been inundated with complaints about the site, situated along the Nashua River. In a June email, one resident wrote: “I wish I could say ‘Good Morning,’ but it would be a lie…It’s not even summer yet, I can only imagine that if this continues, the issue will become worse.”
After filing multiple cease-and-desist letters, town officials launched a lawsuit in Middlesex County Superior Court on July 16, accusing the owner of flouting the town’s zoning regulations as well as air pollution regulations.
Pepperell’s zoning regulations don’t permit for a composting site unless an exemption is provided via state law, the suit states, according to Boston.com.
Days after the suit was filed, the town began levying $300-a-day fines against the owner,
When reached by The Independent, Al Somma, the property owner, said the smell had been eliminated. He described the lawsuit as “frivolous,” adding that officials had made “a mountain out of a mole hill.”
Both sides have since agreed to a temporary injunction that requires the owner to halt all composting operations and remove all waste materials by September 28. All fines are suspended until that deadline.
Photos taken at the property show that multiple compost piles have already been removed.
Similar lawsuits hav been filed in other cities.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The property owner will halt composting operations and remove waste materials by the September 28 deadline under the temporary injunction.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Whether the property owner will comply with the September 28 deadline to remove all waste materials
- If the town will pursue further legal action after the injunction period ends
- Whether similar composting operations with fish waste are occurring in other nearby towns
