(MONITOR TOWNSHIP) — A processing facility used by Michigan sugar beet growers has been the subject of hundreds of complaints about intensifying odors. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has received about 800 complaints in the past year and as many as 10 violation notices have been issued to the Michigan Sugar Company plant in Bay County’s Monitor Township. DEQ officials attribute the smell to the plant’s wastewater ponds. The agency is working with the Michigan attorney general’s office on a way to resolve the issue. Michigan Sugar is a Bay City-based grower-owned cooperative. Spokesman Ray Van Driessche says in a statement that it seeks to be a “good neighbor and strong community partner” and “constantly investigates improvements to its wastewater treatment system and other operations.”
