Canoga Tortilla Plant Agrees to Limit Hours, Confer With Neighbors

A Canoga Park tortilla plant that generated complaints about noise and air pollution agreed Wednesday to limit operations and meet regularly with area residents.

The agreement between Mission Foods and the South Coast Air Quality Management District came after a month of negotiations, said Elliott Sernel, deputy counsel for AQMD.

Mission Foods, which makes corn and flour chips and tortillas, also faces criminal charges filed in August by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office. The company is accused of violating state air- and noise-pollution laws.

The AQMD cited Mission Foods six times from July 6 through Sept. 7 for odors of burnt oil and burnt tortillas from its Deering Avenue plant, Sernel said.

Poised to Order Shutdown

The district, which enforces air-quality standards, had been prepared to shut the plant by revoking permits to operate deep-fat fryers and flour silos, Sernel said. But the agreement Wednesday made more harsh measures unnecessary, he said.

Representatives of Mission Foods could not be reached for comment.

At the close of a two-day hearing Wednesday in El Monte, Mission Foods agreed to shut down its ovens and deep-fat fryers between 4 and 7:30 every evening. The company had been operating around the clock, seven days a week, he said.

The company also agreed to use newly installed pollution-control equipment during all operations, he said.

Among many other requirements, Mission Foods must meet with neighborhood representatives at least once a month, and the company must install and maintain a 24-hour hot line for residents’ complaints, Sernel said.

The company also must route most trucks to the front of the facility, away from homes, Sernel said.

Bruce C. Miller, president of the North Canoga Park Residents Assn., formed because of the plant’s odor problem, said “Mission is finally to the point where they have to pay the price for their past sins.” He said, however, that the company’s management has been “trying very hard” to remedy problems in recent weeks.

The city attorney’s office in August charged Mission Foods with three counts of creating air-quality nuisances and six counts of operating machinery more than five decibels above noise limits.

The charges stemmed from neighbors’ complaints that plant operations could be heard around the clock and that the plant was fouling the air. An arraignment is scheduled Oct. 29 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.