On Oct. 29, 2003, La Farfana wastewater treatment plant was inaugurated in the Chilean capital. It is the country's largest such facility, but today is the center of conflict due to the foul odors emanating from the site. Aguas Andinas, which owns the plant, said Oct. 26 that it would provide ''an immediate solution to the problem of foul odors,'' after Chile's President Ricardo Lagos instructed his ambassador in Spain to make a formal complaint to the owners of the firm, the Spanish companies Aguas de Barcelona and Suez.

The population most affected by the smell emanating from the sewage plant are low-income families.

The plant has already been fined by the environmental authorities, and now the government has ordered that the company may not bill its services until the foul smells are eliminated, meaning losses of up to three million dollars in revenue a month.