El Segundo Commission Sets Stage for Battle Over Hyperion Plant

The El Segundo Planning Commission has set the stage for a showdown with Los Angeles officials over the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant.

Responding to a barrage of complaints from residents, commissioners have recommended that Los Angeles be forced to adhere to several new conditions before work to expand the plant can proceed. The conditions include requiring Los Angeles to hire an ombudsman at its own expense to handle homeowner complaints arising from the construction.

The commission’s recommendations now go to council members, who must hold a public hearing before voting on whether to adopt them. The council is expected to set a hearing date when it meets Tuesday.

Hyperion construction engineer Sam Furuta said Friday that plant officials will ask the council to modify the commission’s recommendations.

“What those modifications (will be) are still up in the air because we haven’t completed our review yet,” Furuta said. “ . . . We think some of them are not clear, or maybe not technically correct.”

Last January, council members granted Los Angeles a conditional-use permit to build a new sedimentation tank at the plant after receiving assurances that residents would not be disturbed by the construction. Los Angeles needed the permit because 6% of the tank will be in El Segundo.

In recent weeks, however, a number of homeowners have complained that vibrations caused by construction equipment have caused their homes and swimming pools to develop cracks. Others have complained that the outsides of their homes have been blanketed by blowing sand.

Besides hiring an ombudsman, the commission also recommended that construction work be halted on windy days to prevent sand from blowing, and that any damage claims filed against Los Angeles by homeowners be settled within three months. A $2-million fund to take care of potential claims was established by Los Angeles officials before construction began.