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INVERNESS, N.S. — Known for its two world-class golf resorts, a former coal mining town in Cape Breton is quickly gaining a reputation for something other than spectacular seaside fairways.

In recent weeks, Inverness, N.S., has become one of the most foul-smelling communities on the island.

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With the putrid stench of human waste wafting from an overworked sewage lagoon, residents say the local infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with the town’s growth since the courses started attracting golfers from around the world.

“This is a crisis,” says Rose Mary MacDonald, president of the Inverness Development Association.

“People are running, they’re covering their mouths, they’re going in their houses and closing the windows. It’s that bad.”

The smell is worse than rotten eggs, she says, adding that golfers were recently spotted gagging on the greens.

“They were holding their noses and saying, ‘Mother of God, what is that?”‘ MacDonald says. “It’s going to stunt our growth. It’s embarrassing.”