Robbins Spars With DWP on Water Tower’s Proposed Site

Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials wrangled Wednesday over just how close a proposed site for a tower to treat toxic water is to homes in North Hollywood. They also argued over the effect the tower would have on public health.

Robbins told the Senate Toxics and Public Safety Committee that he had paced off the distance and found that the proposed tower would be 85 feet from a small home and 250 feet from a 10-unit apartment building--not more than 600 feet, as the DWP had previously estimated.

“The DWP position is that these people don’t exist. . . .,” Robbins said, adding that he has “serious reservations about plowing toxic chemicals into the air.”

DWP officials backed away from their previous estimates, but disputed Robbins’ figures. Larry McReynolds, the DWP’s assistant chief engineer for water systems, said after the hearing that the house, at 7047 Radford Ave., is about 300 feet from the tower location. He also maintained that the apartment building, at 7005 Radford Ave., is about 700 feet away.

DWP officials also insisted the emissions would not be hazardous to residents’ health.

Estimates Based on Maps

But Ron Cagle, a DWP lobbyist, said he was surprised to learn that people were living in the area.

Moreover, Cagle said that previous estimates were based on zoning maps, which showed that all land within 600 feet of the site “is zoned industrial.”

Also on Wednesday, Robbins modified a bill being considered by the Toxics Committee on the placement of such towers. The senator’s original proposal would have have prohibited treatment towers from being built within 330 feet of homes, but Robbins amended it to simply ensure that residents near such proposed facilities be notified in advance of any public hearings.

The amended version was approved on a vote of 4 to 1 and sent to the Appropriations Committee. Sen. H. L. Richardson (R-Glendora) cast the only vote against the bill.

Robbins said that, although the revised bill is weaker than the one he first proposed, it “achieves the goal of notification” and means that both he and local residents would learn whenever hearings are scheduled.

Current Requirements

Under current law, public agencies such as DWP are allowed to make the notifications themselves, according to a consultant to the Toxics Committee. If Robbins’ bill is approved, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which must issue a permit for the tower, would be required to notify residents, the consultant said.

The air-quality district previously issued a permit for the tower when it was planned for 11850 Vanowen St. in North Hollywood. But DWP officials later changed that plan for aesthetic reasons, with the new site being a DWP maintenance yard at 11875 Vose St. in North Hollywood.

The proposed 40-foot tower is designed to remove chemicals and solvents from contaminated ground water through aeration or air stripping.

The health controversy over what Robbins called a “toxic tower proposal” stems from its proposed use to purge well water of solvents suspected of causing cancer. Water would be pumped to the top of the tower where air, if blown over it, would cause the solvents to evaporate. Air-quality district officials have said the tower poses no threat to health, even in a residential neighborhood, because the materials are in small quantities.

After holding a hearing on the controversy April 19 in North Hollywood, Robbins inspected the neighborhood where the DWP now wants to locate the tower and determined that it would be closer to homes than the DWP had told him.

Robbins also said the tower would be built above a contaminated well. But the DWP’s McReynolds said it would be constructed away from the well.

The disagreement and the way the matter has been handled by the DWP left Toxics Committee Chairman Sen. Art Torres (D-South Pasadena) angry.

Officials Chastised

“You guys can’t continue to rely on those types of (zoning) maps to determine the health and safety requirements where people are concerned,” Torres said in chastising DWP officials.

He went on to say that “bureaucrats” failed to “get off their duffs” and check things out, as Robbins had.

“If you’re going to come to this committee and make representations . . . you better be damned sure you’ve got you’re facts straight,” Torres told the officials.

Robbins said he and his staff also contacted residents near the proposed tower site and found they had not been notified by the DWP about the project.

One of those they contacted was Claude Tirabasso, 67, a retired X-ray machine serviceman, who has lived in the apartment building at 7005 Radford St. for two months.

In a telephone interview, Tirabasso, who said he has emphysema and other lung problems, wondered how the chemicals from the tower might affect his health. “One block is a short distance,” he said.

Tirabasso said he learned about the tower from newspaper reports.