MUSCATINE, Iowa - Muscatine residents have until October 16th to decide whether or not to stay in a class action lawsuit against Grain Processing Corporation.
Charrie Fiese lives near the plant and when she looks at her home all she sees is soot covering the siding and windows.
"Washing your windows all the time and your house gets like this, you gotta scrub it, it`s awful," said Fiese.
The smell, she described as unbearable, "it don`t smell like a cookout, it stinks like burnt grain," she said.
Sandra Axtell lives in the same neighborhood.
“It’s just taking too long, I wish it would hurry up, get over with," said Axtell.
These women join around 5,000 people who have to decide if they will stay in a class action lawsuit against GPC.
Another option would be a settlement agreement.
People who have lived within 1.5 miles of the plant for at least 8 years could receive up to $33,000. About one-third of that would go to their lawyers.
"I'd rather have something little than nothing at all," said Axtell.
"I decided to take it so I could get some work done to my house," said Fiese.
Both women say they don't want to take the risk of going to court.
The trial will begin July 9, 2018, in district court.