AMERICAN FORK — A board that oversees a sewage-treatment plant — the source of a not-so-faint odor along I-15 — has agreed to take a step that could significantly reduce the plant's pervasive odors in as soon as seven months.

Officials at the plant, which operates as the Timpanogos Special Services District, already have plans to reduce the plant's odors by overhauling and expanding its system in the next three years. But board members voted unanimously on Thursday to "be a good neighbor" and jump-start the process by adding a belt-press system ahead of schedule.

"You've got Pleasant Grove city with all of these plans — they're going to have their high-rise hotel, they're going to have their convention center, and there's a lot that will be done by spring of 2009," district engineer Larry Bowen told board members. "This plant will probably be functional (with less odors) by midyear 2010. The board will certainly get a lot of heat, more than they're getting now, with that kind of development on the border here."

Bowen said that most of the plant's odors come from its composting operation. The plant, located just off of exit 275 on I-15, on the border of American Fork and Pleasant Grove, composts all of its solid waste as an alternative to dumping excess sludge in a wet landfill.

Part of the composting process involves a step where the plant's treated, wet sludge dries in the open sun in order get rid of excess water and kill bacteria. The waste, of which the district receives about 12 million gallons a day, is also occasionally mixed up as part of the composting process.

These steps are thought to produce a majority of the odors that have prompted nearby businesses to complain.

To solve the problem, the district has decided to implement a $1.2 million belt-press system that will chemically treat the sludge and squeeze excess liquids from the waste, thus eliminating the need for the sludge to dry in open air. Instead, the sludge will be pressed and treated in an enclosed facility, which should eliminate a significant amount of odor.

The belt-press is an advanced, alternative treatment method the district was already planning to add as a part of the overall expansion project.

"Technology, by sheer momentum, is leading us to a place where we're going to reduce our odors," board member Tracy Wallace said.

Other odor mitigation techniques could also be explored, but some board members say they are hesitant to spend money on equipment that would lessen the smell but become obsolete by the time the plant's expansion is complete.

"I support being good neighbors, and I think this is a good stepping stone, spending ($1.2 million) to take care of whatever odor that we can," said board member Glen Vawdrey. "But I feel like there is a little responsibility that should be taken by the businesses that have been encroaching (in the area), because it's not our fault that they came. ... I think this is a good neighbor gesture, but to go further, on something that you're just going to throw away, I don't know if I can support that."

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