San Gabriel Valley : 2 More Cities Oppose Trash-to-Energy Plant

Joining seven other cities in the San Gabriel Valley, the Baldwin Park and West Covina city councils have voted unanimously to oppose a proposed waste-to-energy plant in Irwindale.

“We have had our share of contaminants,” Baldwin Park Mayor Jack White said. The council wants to make sure that the city remains suitable for residential uses, White said.

The Irwindale plant, proposed by Pacific Waste Management Corp. of Newport Beach, would burn 3,000 tons of trash a day and generate enough electricity to serve approximately 40,000 homes.

Baldwin Park’s city staff has been instructed to apply for intervenor status in hearings on the proposed plant before the California Energy Commission, said Dick Smith, director of community services for Baldwin Park.

As a legal intervenor in the case, Baldwin Park would be entitled to receive reports and records prepared for the hearings and the opportunity to voice its objections, White said.

The West Covina City Council voted Monday to oppose the proposed waste-to-energy facility, making it the most recent city to join an opposition movement launched by Mayor Forest Tennant Jr. nearly two months ago. Baldwin Park took its action last week.