Renewal of Toxic Waste Storage Permit Spurs Civil Rights Suit
An environmental group in Pico Rivera has filed a civil rights complaint accusing state regulators of engaging in racial discrimination by renewing a toxic waste storage permit in the city earlier this year.
The complaint, filed on behalf of the Pico Rivera-based Manzanar Action Committee, alleges that the state Department of Toxic Substances Control violated the rights of the city’s mostly Latino residents in January by allowing the Southern California Gas Co. to continue storing polychlorinated biphenyls and other chemicals at its Rosemead Boulevard plant, as it has for 13 years.
A spokesman for the federal Environmental Protection Agency said Monday the complaint was received earlier this month at the EPA’s Washington headquarters. It has not, however, been reviewed by officials at the agency’s San Francisco office, he said.
Meanwhile, state hazardous waste officials denied discriminating against Pico Rivera residents, adding that they base permit decisions solely on the application of the company, its record of storing toxic waste and whether the property is zoned for such uses.
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