El Segundo Upset : Complaints on Hyperion Spur Review

The on-again, off-again battle between El Segundo and Los Angeles over the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant is on again.

Saying that Los Angeles, which operates the plant, is not living up to an agreement, El Segundo City Council members have told their staff to determine whether the conditional-use permit issued to allow the facility’s expansion should be revoked. Los Angeles needed the permit because 6% of a new sedimentation tank will be in El Segundo.

“Hyperion is not living up to its promises to the city of El Segundo,” Councilman Scot Dannen said in an interview Thursday, adding that the city has been plagued by periodic odors and construction-related problems at the plant.

Odor Control Promised

In January, council members delayed granting Hyperion a permit to build a new sedimentation tank at the plant until Los Angeles officials promised to control odors and prevent construction problems. After receiving assurances from Los Angeles that the odors would be controlled and that residents would not be disturbed by the construction, council members, by a 3-2 vote, agreed to issue the permit.

But this week, the council ordered the Planning Department to review the permit after several residents complained that construction workers failed to clean up large amounts of sand that had blown into their yards and onto the sides of their homes from the project. The homeowners said the problem became especially acute on the Sunday before Memorial Day, when a contractor hired by Hyperion began bulldozing during high winds.

Phil Johnson, Hyperion’s area construction manager, explained that the contractor was trying to push sand from a hillside to the beach below to shore up an area where he had stored some equipment.

“Basically, we had a 50-m.p.h. sandstorm,” Johnson said. “Our contractor was in danger of losing his equipment because of high winds and surf.”

Johnson said he met with a handful of homeowners to apologize and explain. Homeowners who believe their residences were damaged have been given claim forms, he added. A $2-million fund to take care of potential claims was established by Los Angeles officials before construction began.

“We’re not here to damage the homeowners,” Johnson said. “Every time we do get a complaint, I make it a point to personally go out and talk to the homeowner.”

El Segundo can revoke the permit if city officials decide the plant is creating a public nuisance. However, it must first hold a public hearing. To meet legal requirements, the earliest date such a hearing can be held is June 27. The tank, which will increase by 25% the plant’s capacity to provide primary treatment of sewage, is needed to comply with a federal court order. Completion is scheduled for early 1992.