State environmental regulators on Thursday issued an eighth air quality violation notice for the nauseating stench wafting from Stellantis’s two-year-old Jeep assembly plant on Detroit’s east side.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) said an air-quality inspector detected “persistent and objectionable” paint odors that constitute an “unreasonable interference with the comfortable environment of life and property.”
The company was given until June 1 to respond to the violation and come up with a plan to address the odor.
Despite repeated violations for the odors dating back to September 2021, the pungent, headache-inducing smell continues to make life miserable for the predominantly Black neighborhood near the Mack Assembly Complex, which builds Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs.
Stellantis is violating its air permit and state and federal air quality rules and regulations.
In December, EGLE entered into a consent order with Stellantis to require the company to address the smell by June 30. Under the agreement, Stellantis must install a second regenerative thermal oxidizer and update its nuisance minimization plan. It must also pay the state $136,832 and install a new building management system for Southeast High School.
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Detroiters who live near the plant objected to the consent agreement last year, saying it didn’t go far enough to protect residents. They called on stricter penalties for noncompliance, and some asked for reimbursements to relocate.
In November 2021, five residents filed a civil rights complaint against EGLE for allowing the plant to increase emissions of toxic contaminants. They also allege the state failed to analyze the cumulative impact of air pollution before issuing the emission permits.
They called on the state to stop allowing polluters to primarily build in predominantly Black neighborhoods, saying it amounts to environmental racism.
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