Something smells in the Millbrook subdivision in Tyrone, but hopefully not for long.

Residents complained about the malodorous stench at Thursday night’s Town Council meeting and the problem, a broken septic tank, my be fixed by the time you are reading this article.

The first time that the members of the Tyrone Town Council or town staff were alerted to the problem was Wednesday in an e-mail, but the several residents who spoke up in public comments at the meeting stated that they have been dealing with the smell since October. One resident, Karen Hammond, stated that she was very upset and embarrassed about the smell near her home. She added that it was so bad on one night that her husband was gagging because of the smell.

“You can often smell it in the Publix parking lot,” Hammond said, adding that she hoped she hadn’t made a mistake by moving to Tyrone. Hammond’s husband, Fred, spoke next, adding that he was concerned that the nasty aroma signified a possible health problem. “I don’t dare bring my grandkids over and I’m sure the pets are bringing whatever it is inside with them,” he said.

Tyrone has no jurisdiction over the wastewater system in the subdivision, as the permits come from the state Environmental Protection Division and the Fayette County Board of Health, but all seemed concerned about the health and well-being of the residents. The town council did pass a motion to not issue any building permits in the subdivision until the problem is resolved and Councilman Lyn Redwood asked that the Hammond's bring the problem to the attention of the Fayette County Health Department as well.

Developer Burt Clark addressed the council, stating that he was alerted to the problem and that a maintenance crew was going out to the subdivision Friday morning to address the problem. What had been occurring, according to Clark, was that the septic tank, which usually begins to pump when it is 40 percent full, was waiting until it was 100 percent full before it started pumping. Clark added that there was no leak of raw sewage, which was one theory that the Millbrook residents had about the cause of the stink.

Councilman Mike Smola promised the concerned residents that the town would take care of the problem and Clark added that they would manually pump the system as long as they had to until the situation was permanently fixed.

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