West Covina : BKK Test Verification
The City Council has ordered an independent analysis of the sewage sludge that is shipped from a Los Angeles treatment plant to the BKK landfill to find out whether it is hazardous.
Michael Miller, West Covina community services manager, said quarterly test results reported by the City of Los Angeles to the Regional Water Quality Control Board have consistently shown that the sludge is non-hazardous. But, Miller said, West Covina officials want an independent lab to run its own tests at the same time Los Angeles runs its tests so that the results can be compared.
Miller said some people are unwilling to accept the Los Angeles test results without verification because the City of Los Angeles has an interest in obtaining a non-hazardous classification in order to continue shipping sludge to BKK. The landfill has been closed to hazardous waste since 1984.
Miller said it will cost $2,000 to test the sludge for heavy metals and other hazardous materials. The BKK landfill takes about 1,000 tons of sludge a day, most of it from a Los Angeles treatment plant.
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