Tree Top staff working to remedy smell in Selah - Yakima Herald-Republic

Selah residents who have noticed a pervasive rotten egg smell in the community should soon get some relief.

Chris Cary, an environmental manager with Tree Top’s Selah location, confirmed the smell is coming from the wastewater treatment holding pond near Harrison Road. Tree Top processes millions of pounds of fruit each year, including apples and pears.

Cary said employees became aware of the issue in mid-February and have been working to remedy the problem, which is related in part to reduced nutrients in the facility’s wastewater treatment process.

“We’ve responded with a number of corrective actions that have greatly improved the situation,” he said.

Corporate Communications Manager Allison Arnett said Tree Top has worked with the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology, neither of which have cited the facility.

Cary said Tree Top also has communicated with the city of Selah. He’s scheduled to speak at Tuesday’s Selah City Council meeting to help answer residents’ questions.

“We do care about the community, and we don’t want to have any negative impacts,” he said. “Our interaction and involvement with the community is very important to Tree Top.”

Residents also complained about a smell from Tree Top last April. That smell came from anaerobic activity in fruit waste, triggered by a rapid change in temperature that impacted equipment operation. Tree Top fixed the situation within several weeks by using diesel-powered generators to increase the equipment's performance and surface aeration.

Cary said the situation this year is different. 

Added stress to the facility’s system created a gel that inhibited proper treatment, which led to odors, Cary said.

After employees increased nutrients and started monitoring those nutrients more closely, the situation improved, he said.

Staff added equipment to improve buffering of cleaning materials, where both basic and acidic compounds used in manufacturing the cleaning cycle can be combined to a neutral pH before entering the wastewater treatment plant.

Cary said he’s not sure exactly what triggered the added stress to the system. He said that water conservation efforts over the years and increased concentrations of cleaning materials for increased food safety guidelines may have contributed.

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Tree Top staff working to remedy smell in Selah - Yakima Herald-Republic
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