North end residents have dealt with the pungent smell for years, but Moncton city council is finally putting its foot down.

A motion from Ward 3 councillors Bryan Butler and Dave Steeves was unanimously passed at a meeting this week. It was first introduced in January but was postponed to this week.

It reads: “That the City of Moncton insist TransAqua build a facility on its lot to keep odours inside and equip it with air filters to eliminate the odours. Alternatively, move it to an urgent plant outside the city.”

Butler made a statement to his fellow councillors explaining the impacts of this smell on residents.

“We started recording them [the smells] around 2021, but we had gotten them before that. When we’re talking about solid waste, we get caught up with the word, solid waste. There’s another word that I won’t say, but it rhymes with sit. That’s what these people in the north end are dealing with continuously,” Butler explained.

“There must be something that we as a council, that put this much money into TransAqua, to help these people in the north end, to be able to enjoy the quality of life that they deserve.”

He also pointed out that in Riverview there are few complaints regarding the smell from their sewage composting plant, and that’s because it is contained inside.

Serge Landry, the city’s chief administrative officer, says they have had conversations with the TransAqua management team and they have been trying, with several different efforts. He also noted they have received direction from its board of directors.

“We’ll continue to work with TransAqua on that basis, with efforts from a regulatory or legal perspective, to find out what their responsibility or their response would be, but secondly in making sure they try to address some of the concerns of council,” said Landry.

Bruce Tait, a retired city employee, was appointed to the board of TransAqua at the end of Monday’s council meeting.

“We’ve laid complaints, laid complaints, laid complaints, but all we hear is that they’re following the guidelines. People living there, sitting beside this every day are tired of it. As council, we have to stand up for the people and be direct,” Butler added.