Neighbors in one fast-growing central Texas town say the air has turned stomach-turning—and now the state is taking a local plant to court. Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued Darling Ingredients, which runs a rendering facility in Bastrop, accusing it of releasing noxious odors and air pollutants in violation of state permits and air-quality laws. Residents have compared the smell to dog food, burning feathers, boiling blood, and death. The state's petition says the stench has become a persistent nuisance that interferes with people's ability to use and enjoy their homes, the Houston Chronicle reports.
The lawsuit also accuses the plant of emitting hydrogen sulfide, a gas with a rotten-egg scent that can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat, and of failing to meet requirements on equipment maintenance, pH levels, and recordkeeping. Paxton is asking a judge to impose civil penalties and order fixes, including immediate odor control, real-time hydrogen sulfide monitoring, and oversight by independent experts—not a shutdown. Darling says it will respond in court and remains "committed to being a good neighbor," directing residents to a website outlining its efforts. The suit involving Bastrop, 30 miles southeast of Austin, is now a test case over what the law requires.
The state Commission on Environmental Quality reports it's received hundreds of complains over the past three years, per KXAN. City Councilwoman Joy Casnovsky was pleased by the filing but wishes the state had done more. "It shouldn't be on me [a mom], and kind of just a regular person having to constantly file complaints or go to TCEQ hearings or become educated on all of these things," she said. "I just want people to do their job, and I just want you to stop polluting," Casnovsky said.
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