In recent months, Albany's Rapp Road landfill has managed contained the overwhelming stench that used to permeate the surrounding neighborhood's air, according to the Times Union.

The landfill's former pungent aroma, once described as "the persistent, stifling, gagging stench of rotten eggs" used to prompt hundreds of calls to the authorities from residents in the 12 surrounding communities. Those calls now seem to have largely fallen off.

This is due, in large part, to the black plastic liner covering approximately 15 acres of the landfill. To top it off, 24 inches of clay have been laid over that plastic covering as a way to trap the fumes.

Because of the foul air, the state Department of Environmental Conservation had fined the city $50,000. Yet, if the new solution to the air pollution and stench is successful, it is likely that the city will only have to pay about $7,500.

The city hired Applied Ecological Services to do massive habitat restoration for about 250 acres of the Pine Bush, again to answer critics. The city, which will spend $8 million to $10 million over a decade in these efforts, is working closely with the Pine Bush Preserve Commission.