Local News in Brief : Waste Incinerator Backers Lose Ruling

Plans for a hazardous-waste incinerator in Vernon suffered a setback Friday when an air quality hearing board refused to overturn the developer’s appeal of an order to conduct an environmental impact study before construction starts.

The decision will now be challenged in court, where a lawsuit against the South Coast Air Quality Management District could be filed as early as next week, according to a lawyer for California Thermal Treatment Service.

The company, a subsidiary of Security Environmental Systems Inc. of Garden Grove, wants to build the state’s first full-scale commercial hazardous-waste incinerator at a site about four miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The $30-million plant would burn 22,500 tons per year of waste oils, solvents and sludges.

The air quality district last month said it will not renew incinerator construction permits, due to expire Feb. 1, without an environmental impact report. A company spokesman said that could push back the project more than a year. By a 4-1 vote, the hearing board ruled that it lacked authority to hear California Thermal’s appeal of the air district’s decision.