Judge Sticks By Her Ruling for Hazardous-Waste Burning
A federal judge Monday refused to overturn her earlier decision allowing Ogden Environmental Services to start an experimental hazardous-waste incinerator in a research park atop La Jolla’s Torrey Pines Mesa.
U. S. District Judge Judith Keep denied the request by attorneys for the city of San Diego that she amend or overturn her June 27 ruling in a controversial case that pits the city and environmentalists against the company.
In an oral ruling, Keep rejected city attorneys’ arguments that the federal court should not rule on the matter and their contentions that the city has the right to impose requirements that, in effect, would ban the project.
Richard Herzog, a private Washington attorney representing the city, said he will confer with the San Diego City Council before deciding whether to appeal the case.
In June, Keep barred the City Council from issuing a special permit regulating the project, ruling that the council had shown through its actions that it actually intended to ban the incinerator. That posture violates federal law encouraging development of innovative hazardous-waste technology, she said.
An Ogden spokesman said the company intends to conduct its first test burn of hazardous waste within three months.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
