El Segundo to Sue L.A. Over Hyperion Plant

Angered by last week’s release of strong fumes from Los Angeles’ Hyperion Sewage Treatment Plant, which sent one resident to the hospital, the El Segundo City Council voted unanimously Friday to sue Los Angeles and demand a full investigation of environmental and health problems posed by Hyperion.

The sprawling coastal plant borders El Segundo.

City Atty. Leland Dolley said the suit branding Hyperion a public nuisance will be filed in Los Angeles Superior Court within a week. He said the city will seek an injunction compelling Hyperion to eliminate odor and health problems at the earliest opportunity.

Councilman Scot Dannen moved that the suit be filed, contending the city faces a “stone wall” with Hyperion. Los Angeles officials have acknowledged odor problems at Hyperion but have said some will disappear with the plant expansion now under way.

The council said in December that it would sue Los Angeles over Hyperion. It has collected 125 affidavits from residents about health, safety and emotional problems associated with the sewage treatment plant. However, in response to the March 19 incident at Hyperion, City Manager Ron Cano on Friday urged immediate action. “The time is now. We owe it to the citizens,” he told the council.

In that incident, Cano said, one resident near the plant was treated at Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center in Hawthorne after complaining of burning eyes and nose. Two others complained of sore throats and eyes.

Cano said preliminary investigations by the city and the South Coast Air Quality Management District failed to determine what produced the fumes, although chlorine or ammonia was suspected at the time. Hyperion officials said a scrubbing device used to remove hydrogen sulfide gases had malfunctioned, but the source of the fumes could not be pinpointed.