The Region : Lawsuit Cites Dump’s Noxious Odors

Santa Barbara County has sued Casmalia Resources in Montecito in an attempt to put an end to noxious odors coming from its hazardous waste disposal site. The county said in the suit that the plant is a public nuisance and the smells coming from it may be a health hazard. The county is asking a Santa Maria Superior Court judge to order the company to stop using five ponds at the plant, located 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles, and to stop accepting liquid wastes for those ponds. About 40% of the work done at the plant is with liquid wastes. Casmalia attorney Michael Cooney said the company is pumping air into some of the ponds and hydrogen peroxide into others in an attempt to clean them up. Two of the ponds have been covered with layers of oil and foam to keep the odors from escaping.