Long Beach : Crews Take Advantage of Delay to Work on Trash Burner’s Emissions

Air quality officials postponed a hearing on whether to grant another variance for Long Beach’s high-technology trash incinerator until June 8, giving extra time for plant officials to try to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions.

Bill Davis, the city’s solid-waste manager, said work crews from the plant’s builder, Dravo Corp., will be trying to solve the excess emissions problem. With those assurances in hand, the city can present a stronger case to the South Coast Air Quality Management District for the variance, Davis said.

If the air quality board denies the variance for the plant, officially called the Southeast Resource Recovery Facility, the city might be forced to operate at 80% of designed capacity, Davis said. The reduced operation would inhibit the plant’s ability to produce electricity from burned trash, making it more expensive to operate.