Early morning tests over a couple of days late last week prompted several inquiries, made to Oakdale city officials – as well as a few calls and emails to The Leader – about what was going on.

The noise, residents reported, was coming from the area of ConAgra and, in fact, was later determined to be a test at the South Yosemite Avenue plant.

“We have received complaints about the noise as well,” Oakdale City Manager Bryan Whitemyer confirmed on Friday, Dec. 15, with the steady, loud noise occurring primarily in the early morning hours.

City Public Services Director Jeff Gravel reached out to ConAgra regarding the high-pressure noise issue and got an explanation, provided by Nicholas Oliver, Manager, Environmental Compliance and Sustainability.

“The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District requires industrial operations to perform emissions testing annually to ensure air quality standards are being met. During this testing, we must vent steam from our boilers which can be very loud,” Oliver said in response to the city inquiry. “We have always been committed to exceeding the air quality standards of the valley and will continue to do so.”

He also apologized “for the noise pollution created by this testing procedure” but again, indicated it was a required procedure.

It’s also possible additional boiler testing will be necessary in the next few weeks, Oliver said, which would produce similar noise.