L.A. Given 120 Days to Install Gas-Trapping System at Lopez Dump

Air-quality officials Wednesday ordered the city of Los Angeles to install a gas-collection system in the Lopez Canyon Landfill by mid-December to siphon off methane gas that carries foul odors into nearby neighborhoods.

If the system is not installed by Dec. 18, the city Bureau of Sanitation would have to close the dump above Lake View Terrace until the work is completed, officials for the South Coast Air Quality Management District said.

“They don’t comply with those conditions, they have to cease and desist,” said Elliott R. Sernel, an AQMD attorney.

An AQMD hearing board unanimously approved an abatement order requiring the gas-collection system after a three-hour hearing at the Lake View Terrace Recreation Center. But under the abatement order, the Bureau of Sanitation can request an extension of the Dec. 18 deadline.

The order requires that work begin on the gas-collection system by Aug. 16. Christopher M. Westhoff, attorney for the bureau, said construction might begin before that date.

Absorbs Odors

Methane gas is odorless but can absorb smells emanating from the dump, Westhoff said. The $1-million system would use flares to burn off gas produced by decomposing garbage, he said.

Lew Snow, vice president of the Lake View Terrace Home Owners Assn., said area residents have been waiting three years for the Bureau of Sanitation to handle the gas problem. According to the abatement order, the AQMD issued the bureau a notice of violation on June 26, 1986, after excessive amounts of methane gas were discovered at the dump.

The bureau has obtained variances from the AQMD that have allowed the city to continue operating the dump even though the gas-collection system was not in place.

Concern about the gases in Lopez Canyon grew after two landfill workers were overcome by fumes and fainted there March 8. Responding to complaints from residents, the AQMD issued notices of violation to the bureau on March 25, April 27, May 1 and July 24 because “odorous air contaminants” were creating a public nuisance, the abatement order said.

Westhoff and Sernel praised the 120-day construction schedule. “The time frames here are as tight as we can make them,” Westhoff said.

Katz Critical

But Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sepulveda), in a statement, criticized the timetable. “For a landfill operating in violation of the law, this is a very generous construction schedule,” he said.

Katz said the AQMD should order the city to install the equipment in 30 days. Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge), in a statement, said the dump should be closed if the installation period is not speeded up.

Snow said he doubted the city will install the gas-removal equipment on time. “For three years they dragged their feet and now they’re going to build it in 120 days?” he asked sarcastically.

The bureau still faces fines for the violations recorded in the abatement order. Westhoff predicted the bureau would not pay more than $20,000 in fines. The bureau and AQMD are negotiating the issue, he said.

The abatement order is not connected to a conflict between Los Angeles and the state Solid Waste Mangement Board over the amount of trash dumped in the landfill each day.