FRANKLIN, Tenn. -- Ten months after chemicals were found to be leaking into the Harpeth River, residents said little has been done to stop the pollution.

video: Harpeth River Pollution Concerning Residents

There is some concern that the proposed cleanup will do nothing to help the situation and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation may have helped come up with the plan.

Resident Scott Martin who lives along the Harpeth, said there is still a smell coming from the river because of the leaking chemicals.

"We were out last night and the smell was so overpowering that we had to go inside," said Martin.

Acetone and toluene leaks from the Egyptian Lacquer plant were discovered 10 months ago along the Harpeth River and Liberty Creek. Since the discovery, the situation has hardly changed, said residents.

"We're seeing algae still growing on top of the water. We're seeing bacteria growing. We're still seeing this coming out," said Pam Davee of the Harpeth River Watershed Association.

The proposed cleanup plan is to let the chemicals keep leaking until they stop on their own. The process is called monitored natural attenuation.

"There are so many other alternatives for cleaning this up, not just continuing it to flow indefinitely into the river. It's just an unacceptable solution. It's not a solution,” said Davee.

"We're trying like crazy. We really are trying. We're using expert people. We're working with the state, and we're really working hard to try and solve this problem," said Kerry Mattox of Egyptian Lacquer Manufacturing.

Mattox said this is not a "do nothing approach” and there has to be careful monitoring of the leak. He said TDEC actually helped them come up with the solution.

"I stand behind TDEC and the consultants and what they recommended," said Mattox.

But it's a proposal that residents like Martin hope never becomes a reality.

"They spilled these hazardous chemicals in our neighborhood and now they want to back out of cleaning it up or take the easiest route of cleaning it with seemingly no regard for our health," said Martin.

TDEC said the public has a chance to comment on the plan until Oct. 23. They will make a final decision about two weeks after that.