Southeast : TOXIC STORAGE

What Pico Rivera residents didn’t know about the gas company never hurt them. But state environmental officials think they should know just the same.

For more than a decade, the Southern California Gas Co. has stored up to 200 55-gallon drums of toxic waste. The company has had an interim permit to store waste at the facility since 1983.

That came as a surprise to many residents as well as administrators of a nearby elementary school. They became concerned when the state Department of Toxic Substances Control notified them in September that the company had applied for a 10-year permit to store up to 1,100 drums of toxic waste generated at its plants nearby.

Now, in an effort to mend relations with community activists, company officials have agreed to keep no more than 200 barrels of toxic waste at a time at the plant in exchange for the city’s support of the permit.

The compromise approved recently by the City Council also allows city representatives to inspect the site without warning. The agreement is contingent upon state regulators approving the permit.