Coalition Sues EPA in Bid to Halt Incinerator Project

A coalition of Eastside and South-Central Los Angeles community groups opposed to a planned hazardous waste incinerator in Vernon sued the federal Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday, escalating a four-year campaign to halt the controversial project.

The complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court by the National Resources Defense Council on behalf of Mothers of East Los Angeles and Concerned Citizens of South-Central Los Angeles claims the agency failed to properly review the project before issuing a permit April 10.

On Thursday evening, community activists and elected officials rallied opposition to the plant with a meeting at an East Los Angeles church and a protest march to the proposed incinerator site in Vernon, a small industrial city southeast of downtown Los Angeles that is surrounded by low-income, minority neighborhoods

“There are alternative locations. There are also alternative technologies,” said Joel Reynolds, an attorney representing the community groups. “The EPA has taken a position that it doesn’t have to look at alternatives, and that is central to this lawsuit.”

An attorney for California Thermal Treatment Services Inc., the company that wants to build the facility, predicted that the suit, like previous court challenges, will fail.

Community activists claim the incinerator--the first large-scale commercial incinerator in California--will spew potentially cancer-causing materials into the already polluted region and create thousands of tons of toxic ash that would have to be buried in as-yet-undetermined locations.

Supporters of the incinerator project, which would be operated as a commercial enterprise, say it would reduce hazardous waste problems. Company lawyer Larry Straw said opponents have grossly exaggerated the health risks and have “no evidence whatsoever” to back up their claims.

The federal lawsuit represents a new legal front in the battle over the controversial incinerator. Another active court case pits the South Coast Air Quality Management District against California Thermal Treatment Services.

The suit filed Thursday asks the court to order the EPA to rescind the hazardous waste disposal permit and require the agency to prepare an environmental study that includes an assessment of alternatives.

EPA spokeswoman Virginia Donohue said the agency “does not get into siting for hazardous waste facilities. That’s a state and local issue and a zoning issue.”

“The EPA believes strongly in pollution reduction and hazardous waste prevention,” Donohue said. “A well-built incinerator that meets environmental regulations and environmental controls has a valid place in hazardous waste management.”