Ammonia Tank Hearing Postponed
A South Coast Air Quality Management District panel decided Thursday to postpone until Nov. 16 a hearing on whether it should cancel a permit it issued for the construction of two anhydrous ammonia tanks at Southern California Edison’s Redondo Beach power plant.
The hearing, originally set for Thursday, was rescheduled to give the city of Redondo Beach time to replace its attorney in the case, Curtis Coleman. Coleman, a former AQMD general counsel who left the agency in April, withdrew from the case when air quality attorneys expressed concern that he might have a conflict of interest.
The city is seeking a hearing because it believes the AQMD failed to meet state environmental review requirements before issuing a permit Sept. 7 for construction of the twin 10,000-gallon tanks.
City officials assert that the ammonia, a potentially toxic substance, could pose a public health risk. But Edison says the chemical is key to a pollution control system that the utility needs to install to meet AQMD air quality standards.
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