TYLER, Texas — When you’re driving in Tyler and you hit Cumberland Rd., you can "smell it."
Keeping the windows up doesn’t even help.
If you live nearby, it’s even worse. In fact officials tell us they’ve received 15 complaints in just the past 10 days.
"It comes and goes, sometimes it's later in the night usually is it's in the evening time that we smell it here in the neighborhood," Tyler resident Casey Brown said. "I guess it depends on veiling winds."
The real estate business, Genecov Group, has taken notice too, creating the website stopthestinkcumberland.com.
They’re urging neighbors to join the effort.
Genecov Group says they reached out to the City of Tyler asking for changes to ease the smell around Faulkner Park and surrounding neighborhoods.
"There are things that they can they can do as far as chemical treatments, they're expensive," Genecov Group President Ray McKinney said. "And especially if you're talking about applying chemical treatments for, you know, 15 to 20 years, which is the time period they're looking at before they move the plant.
The city says they spend about $250,000 in odor controlling chemicals at the treatment plant.
In a statement, the city said:
"We have offered to work with the Genecov Group on the improvement, by having the group pay for those improvements rather than all Tyler Water Utilities customers. Genecov Group has declined this offer."
"This something that all the taxpayers should pay to rectify this?" Tyler Mayor Don Warren said. "Well, we came to the conclusion that we don't think that all citizens should pay for something that will allow the Genecov Group to make more money on the property."
We also reached out to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the state agency that oversees emissions at the plant.
In a statement the agency told us it's investigating the complaints, adding , "preliminary information indicates that the plant was operating in accordance with TCEQ regulations."
"We all deserve to enjoy our property. as we purchased it, whether it's residential, or for business purposes, there's businesses close by on Broadway that this can affect." Brown said. "We all deserve the ability to enjoy our property without having this type of hindrance."
There is no resolution in the effort to stop the stink. but we will stay on top of the story and keep you updated on any developments.