Impact Report Waived for Toxic Waste Incinerator

State Department of Health Services officials, reversing a decision made two months ago, have approved plans to build a controversial toxic waste incinerator in Vernon without an environmental impact report, officials announced Monday.

The decision was a blow to the efforts of local politicians, community leaders and environmentalists who have battled with state health officials for two years to block construction of the proposed plant by Garden Grove-based California Thermal Treatment Services.

“It’s outrageous,” Assemblywoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles) said about the apparent change of mind by state health officials. “It’s incredible that they are saying that there is no need for an environmental impact report.”

In July, bowing to pressure from the communities surrounding Vernon, the Department of Health Services announced that it would require an impact report before deciding whether to approve the proposed incinerator.

That announcement by John A. Hinton, head of the department’s facility-permitting unit, followed heated debates and emotional protests by community members who attended public hearings and gathered petitions.

But James Marxen, a spokesman for the state Department of Health Services’ toxic substance control division, said in a telephone interview that the department was reversing the decision it had announced in July.

He said that after the environmental impact report had been ordered, the department made new safety tests of the potential health hazards of the plant. The tests, he said, showed that the plant would not hurt the environment or harm the surrounding community.

As a result, Marxen said, department officials decided that no environmental impact report was needed.

Opponents charge that the plant, one of three toxic waste disposal facilities being planned for the densely populated southeast county, would threaten the health of thousands of residents living in the suburban communities surrounding Vernon.

EPA Approval Still Needed

The $29-million incinerator--the first of its type planned for location in a metropolitan area--would burn hazardous substances like solvents, industrial liquids and infectious debris from hospitals.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency still must approve the incinerator before Vernon officials can issue building permits, officials said. EPA approval is expected in the next few weeks, Marxen said. EPA officials could not be reached for comment.

Roybal-Allard, Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) and Assemblywoman Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles) have called for legislation that puts limits on new toxic waste plants.