El Segundo Puts More Conditions on Work by L.A. at Hyperion Plant

The El Segundo City Council, angered by problems caused by construction at the Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant, has imposed a host of new conditions on the work.

Following a public hearing Tuesday night, council members voted unanimously to require Los Angeles to ensure that money from a fund created to settle claims is available for up to one year following the completion of the work. The work is scheduled to be completed in early 1992. Before the work began, Los Angeles established a $2-million fund to cover damage claims during construction.

Another condition requires Los Angeles to process claims in a timely manner. For instance, property damage claims under $5,000 must be investigated by Los Angeles officials within 10 days and a proposed resolution offered to the homeowner within 45 days.

Los Angeles will also be required to establish a 24-hour hot line and to pay for an ombudsman to handle residents’ complaints.

Last January, council members granted a conditional-use permit to build a new sedimentation tank at Hyperion after Los Angeles agreed to abide by a number of conditions to make sure that residents would not be unnecessarily inconvenienced. Los Angeles needs the permit because 6% of the tank will be in El Segundo.

In recent weeks, however, a number of homeowners have complained that their homes have sustained serious structural damage as a result of the work, and that Los Angeles has been unresponsive to their complaints and claims.

Los Angeles officials last week balked at several new conditions that had been proposed by El Segundo’s Planning Commission. For instance, the officials said a proposed condition that would have required homeowner claims under $10,000 to be settled within a month and all others within three months was impractical.

After a series of meetings with El Segundo officials before Tuesday’s public hearing, however, Los Angeles agreed to abide by the new conditions passed by the council.