What’s that smell? Dreadful odor in Texas forces folks indoors

Skunks ain't got nothing on this stench. A north Texas town is under attack by an invisible enemy as ruthless as it is odorous.

CBS 11 News reports that in Boyd, Texas, many residents are staying indoors to avoid an overpowering stench. Don Dixon said, "I thought maybe it was a neighbor's dead cow, dead horse, I mean the smell was just horrific."

And Bill DeGan told the station that he's no stranger to stink, but this new wafting scent is in a whole other league. "I can handle cow manure, horse manure, dog manure, but that is something pretty strong," he said.

The mysterious smell has been tracked to a pasture several miles north of Boyd. It seems that a rancher is using a new type of fertilizer from Fort Worth's water treatment plant. After the wastewater has been treated, "solids" remain. That waste is then used to fertilize the field and torment anyone who happens to live downwind.

The people of Boyd have complained, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has opened an investigation.

Hopefully, a resolution is coming soon. With the weather warming and the wind blowing, the smell gets so bad, DeGan insisted, that "you can taste it. I can actually taste it."