RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com) — Months after an unusual stench blanketed parts of Southern California, local smog regulators have approved a $200,000 system to monitor the stench, it was reported Saturday.

The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) plans to establish two stations near the Salton Sea to warn people when the odor reaches critical levels.

The stench apparently spawned from either a fish die-off at the Salton Sea or disturbed sea floors that released methane gas from rotting sea life.

Hundreds of concerned citizens reported the foul odor to authorities last September. It plagued several communities including Indio, Palm Springs, Riverside, Pomona and the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys.

Sam Atwood, a spokesman for AQMD, says the new monitoring system will also help fire agencies decipher whether future stenches are from the lake or other sources.

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