SIMI VALLEY : Worm Concern Still Refuses to Close

Despite a Ventura County order to shut down by New Year’s Day, The Worm Concern near Simi Valley is still struggling to keep its doors open.

Although the yard waste composting business stopped accepting “green waste” more than two weeks ago, it is still selling worm castings used for fertilizer, worms for composting and worm bins.

“We’re still here. We’re still open for business,” said Jeannie Satel, acting manager at the site. “We’re just not accepting any more new material.”

The county counsel’s office issued an order Dec. 1 to halt all composting at the plant and ordered that the company close its doors and begin cleanup of the site--where it once recycled more than 100 tons of yard waste into usable fertilizer each day--by Sunday. The company had operated for more than 18 months without a permit, and neighbors had complained about the smell and possible health effects from the facility, which they labeled a dump.

But lawyers for The Worm Concern are still fighting the county order, Satel said.

“Our lawyers and their lawyers are trying to work something out,” she said.

Since the county issued the order, The Worm Concern has had to lay off most of its employees, going from about 15 full-time staff members to just four, Satel said. Richard Morhar, the founder of the business and its former president, resigned his post two weeks ago, she said.

Hamilton Holt, a member of the company’s board of directors, said he would not comment on Morhar’s resignation, an ongoing company reorganization or the negotiations with the county.

“We have nothing to say on these matters at the moment,” Holt said.