Darling Ingredients, a Frequent Source of Foul Odors and Community Complaints in Bastrop Co., Agrees to Temporary Injunction
Bastrop County residents say the smell persists despite recent regulatory actions
AUSTIN, Texas — On Wednesday, a Travis County District Court judge approved a temporary injunction against Darling Ingredients in the civil lawsuit brought against the polluter for the persistent and potentially harmful odors emanating from its facility in Bastrop County.
The suit brought by the Texas Attorney General’s office comes after years of unresolved air quality violations and failed enforcement efforts by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The injunction, which Darling agreed to, avoids a planned Monday hearing on the lawsuit and testimony by Bastrop County residents.
“This story should have ended a long time ago,” said Kathryn Guerra, the director of Public Citizen’s TCEQ Watchdog Campaign. “But because the TCEQ continues to live up to its reputation as a ‘reluctant regulator,’ it took years of complaints for the state to act, with a new and ongoing chapter to the story that will play out in the courts.”
At issue are illegal levels of hydrogen sulfide emissions and nuisance odors created by the facility that the lawsuit describes as “festering dog vomit on fire”.
“We are glad this lawsuit is moving forward, but it still stinks out here today,” said Michael Matthew, a Bastrop County resident. “Darling has repeatedly violated environmental laws. They violated their Agreed Order with the TCEQ. I am fairly confident Darling will also violate this injunction, which means additional financial penalties, but not relief for our community any time soon.”
The temporary injunction requires Darling to self-monitor and self-report any exceedances of its hydrogen sulfide emissions. The requirements in the agreed-upon injunctions are less stringent than the originally proposed language. The initial lawsuit proposed requiring Darling to report hydrogen sulfide concentrations greater than 80 ppb to the TCEQ. Although the injunction requires that H2S monitoring results be documented, the agency is only required to immediately notify the agency if those levels exceed 1000 ppb.
The lawsuit stems from an enforcement case that began in 2024. Darling was then found in violation of a TCEQ enforcement order last November. During that investigation, Darling also received an enforcement referral for illegally discharging wastewater from its animal-rendering operation into a local creek. A subsequent investigation found that Darling had constructed an illegal dam in the creek, in violation of the state’s water rights laws. In February of this year, Darling was issued another enforcement action for discharging pollutants into waters of the state in concentrations 39,000 times higher than sampled background concentrations.
No aspect of the TCEQ’s enforcement actions or the Attorney General’s lawsuit proposes shuttering the Darling facility. A hearing on the final injunction has been set for July 2027.