As the saying goes, “there is something rotten in Denmark.” In the case of the Doral Community Area, it’s either the Montenay Plant, or perhaps the Medley Landfill.

As chairman of the WDFHA’s environmental committee, I can truly say that things are getting better, although there are still moments when the odors do occur.

I have yet to receive a phone call complaint about odor, and without this information I cannot relay any odor problems to the plant managers. After all, communication is our best weapon.

Several months ago, I, along with Morgan Levy, Chris Mazzola, and Ray Gordon along with Miami-Dade County and several plant engineers, toured the Montenay Plant in order to view the modifications to the plant and inspect their revised clean-up plans.

The very first thing that impressed me was the fact that there was hardly any odor as I drove up to the plant entrance.

As we toured the facility, I could readily see that the ongoing construction was going to make them a first-class facility.

Between the two new stacks with their scrubbers, the conveyor system feeding the burners, the layering of the burnt debris, and in general, their caring attitude and their response to the Doral area population, you could see that things were turning around.

However, “a rose by any other name is still a rose,” and that is what we have—a garbage dump right on the edge of our city. And when the wind blows during certain periods of operation, we know that we have a garbage dump in our back yard.

The other side of the coin is that air curtains are to be added to the containment area and deodorizers will be sprayed during the dumping process in order to control the odors emanating beyond the plant area. This is not an easy task, but progress is being made.

We, the people of Doral, are the ones that must advise Montenay of these conditions. I have prepared a sheet to be filled out by all concerned citizens of Doral. This is your complaint form.

Fax it to me, Sandy Susman, or call so I can pass these complaints to the Montenay engineers. You can be assured they are paying attention.

The West Dade Federation of Homeowners Associations will have a supply of sheets on hand for concerned citizens to pick up and keep on hand.

If you have any questions or suggestions beyond the enclosed report, or would like to tour the Montenay Plant, do not hesitate to call me.

Let’s do it—let’s help them get this facility under control. They want to be a friendly neighbor as part of our community.