KUNA -- Consider this a mystery solved.
Kuna officials announced Wednesday they have pinpointed the culprit behind the unpleasant smell that has been wafting through Kuna this week.
The odor's source was tracked to L & R Environmental, a contaminated water and soil treatment center southeast of town on Thompson Road. Circulation at one of the facility's ponds had been halted for required DEQ testing, ultimately culminating in the smell.
"This situation is not a common occurrence for L & R Environmental however, temperatures and conditions are contributing to the ongoing odor traveling great distances and the odor settling low at times," city officials wrote.
The company has vowed to offset the stink with chlorine and scented deodorants until the DEQ gives them the go-ahead to restart the pond.
The smell, which residents say first became noticeable Monday, prompted at least 100 calls to Intermountain Gas from people who thought the odor was connected to a gas leak. Technicians responded to all the calls and determined in each case no gas leak was occurring.
Although the smell is unpleasant, city officials stressed it is not a safety hazard.
In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, The L & R Group said results from a third-party tester to determine if its facility is the source of the smell have been inconclusive.
The company also said: "While our facility does produce odors under certain conditions, we have never had any complaints of smell outside a two-mile radius of our facility. Based on historical information it is unlikely that the smell at our facility is traveling as much as twenty miles, as reported by some."