Supervisors Tell L.A. to Forget Sludge-Dumping Proposal

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Thursday demanded that the city of Los Angeles suspend its plan to get rid of up to 300 tons a day of sewage sludge by spreading it on Antelope Valley farm fields as fertilizer.

The board voted 4 to 0 to approve a motion by Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the Antelope Valley and opposes the plan.

Antonovich’s motion contends that the city’s proposal amounts to establishing dump space, and thus would first require review and approval by county planners.

“The city of Los Angeles has apparently decided once again that the Antelope Valley should be the city’s unofficial dumping ground for its unwanted refuse,” Antonovich said.

The board also asked the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, which last week postponed a vote on the city’s proposal, to delay any decision until the county can present a formal response.

Antonovich and Antelope Valley residents learned about the proposal only this week from news reports.

The supervisor criticized the city for not publicizing the proposal, claiming “their tactic was to try to avoid public disclosure by obtaining all of the needed state permits prior to any public disclosure of its plans.

Unfortunately for them, they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.”

Harry Sizemore, assistant director of the city’s Bureau of Sanitation, said the city was not trying to sneak the sludge plan through.

But Sizemore added that he could not say whether the city would accede to the county’s demand, saying he was unfamiliar with Antonovich’s motion.