MOORPARK : Compost Firm Says Permits Still Needed
An east county composting company that said it will move to a new site by early January admitted Wednesday it has not begun applying for county permits to operate elsewhere, a process that will take at least five months.
Also, Tom Berg, director of the county’s resource management agency, said the Worm Concern’s current permit expires Jan. 15 and the company has “not shown particular diligence in achieving the permits” needed to continue operating.
Since it began operating two years ago, problems have plagued the Worm Concern, which operates on a 20-acre plot off Tierra Rejada Road between Simi Valley and Moorpark.
The company has never filed the proper operating permits with the county, Berg said at a meeting of the East County Waste Task Force, and neighbors have complained about noxious odors from the operation.
At an Oct. 7 press conference, Worm Concern operators announced they would move their operation to a site several miles north of Moorpark.
Wednesday, Worm Concern attorney Peter Racicot admitted that the company has not signed a lease for a new site but said it is working hard to meet both its neighbors’ needs and the county’s permit requirements.
“The goal is not to cause upset in the community,” Racicot said. “The goal is to provide a service that meets the intent of state law.”
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