Neighbors say what truck is dumping is unbearable

DAMON, TX (KTRK) -- Neighbors in the rural community of Damon say there's an odor in the air that's making them sick.

A few miles South of West Columbia, off Co.Rd. 487, a rancher is hauling in chicken manure from Boling, Texas. The 18-wheelers carry the manure in and then it's spread across the man's one thousand acre property. When the wind blows, the smell carries for miles.

Neighbors describe the smell as sour and foul. One man said he started having chest pains and had to leave the area.

"It gives you a bad headache, my nose gets to running, my chest started getting tight," said Billy Joe Wleczyk. "I thought I might have a heart attack."

The TCEQ and EPA have been notified. Neighbor complaints have sparked a response from the state.

The owner of the property declined to give an on-camera interview, but he argues this is farmland, after all, and what he's doing is safe and legal.