Michigan sets public meeting on smells from new Jeep plant

The state of Michigan has scheduled a public meeting for 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27 to provide an update on its investigation into odors coming from the new Jeep plant in Detroit.

The meeting will be held virtually. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy will discuss the air sampling and inspections it had done as well as its efforts to ensure Stellantis NV is in compliance with its air-quality permit. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also will share its findings from their own air sampling activities. There will be a Q&A session.

Complaints from neighbors of a smell from the Mack Assembly Plant on Detroit's east side resulted in four violations from EGLE. Two were because of objectionable odors, and the other two were for emissions in a part of the paint shop at Mack and the Warren Truck Assembly Plant not being ducted through pollution controls as required by the company's permits.

Stellantis installed the needed equipment at Mack in December and says it will do so before February in Warren, though production of Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wagoneer SUVs and Ram Classic pickup trucks has continued. EGLE says Stellantis will be fined an as-yet unspecified amount.

Stellantis last week submitted a report based on an investigation by a third-party engineering firm that found a high frequency of odors coming from the plant. The company says it will install more emissions controls, though the timeline remains unclear. The automaker says based on data collected by an air-monitoring station on the property's north side, the air quality around the plant is safe.

Residents who wish to participate in EGLE's meeting can register at https://bit.ly/34rgxYL or call into the meeting on Jan. 27 at 636-651-3142 with the conference code 374288.

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble