LOCAL : Sheriff’s Dept. Cited in Jail Gas
The South Coast Air Quality Management District has cited the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for excessive emissions of methane gas from a landfill at the department’s jail in Castaic, district officials said today.
Studies by AQMD engineers found methane levels four to six times the state standard of 50 parts per million, said David Rutherford, an AQMD spokesman.
The AQMD ordered the Sheriff’s Department to install a gas-collection system at the dump at the Peter J. Pitchess Honor Rancho. Last week Sheriff’s Department officials requested an exemption from the order, saying recent tests showed low levels of methane at the dump.
AQMD officials denied the request. Unless the Sheriff’s Department complies with the order, the AQMD is prepared to take the county to court to correct the problem, Rutherford said.
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