2 Agencies, Neighbors Slinging Mud Over Smelly Sewage Plant

It began boldly, as one of the world’s first programs to recycle sewage.

Officials built a $50-million cluster of gymnasium-sized buildings on the road to Malibu where human waste could be transformed into usable compost.

But the high hopes have degenerated into bad feelings as pungent and persistent odors at Rancho Las Virgenes Composting facility have estranged neighbors and driven a wedge between the Ventura and Los Angeles county officials who control the project.

“We’re proposing that we shut down the composting plant,” said Ron Stark, chairman of the Triunfo Sanitation District board, which is a partner in the venture. “It’s a very inefficient way to handle sludge.”

Stark said the sludge should instead be converted into fertilizer, a change which would eliminate the odors and generate a profit. The agency filed a lawsuit contending just that, and seeking to avoid payment of its share of $2 million in fees to buy land in the vicinity of the plant.

The odor was described by residents as “pungent,” “overpowering” and like raw sewage.

Triunfo’s partner in the sludge plant is Las Virgenes Water District.

The two agencies “fight about everything,” Las Virgenes counsel Wayne Lemieux said. To end the impasse, Lemieux responded to the Triunfo lawsuit with one of the district’s own, seeking an end to the partnership.

In the midst of the bureaucratic struggle, residents say they are forced to endure the smelly situation.

Mi Young Kang, who lives on El Encanto Drive near the plant, said her son has developed allergies since they moved into their house two years ago. She attributes the ailment to the plant.

“Sometimes it’s so bad that we couldn’t go out or open the windows,” Kang said.

Plaintiffs Allege Physical Problems

Michael Gallagher Jr. and 50 of his neighbors who live a few miles west of the Rancho Las Virgenes Composting Facility are the latest to sue the districts for allegedly operating the plant improperly, attorney Talin Yacoubian said. The plaintiffs are alleging that the odors have caused “a great deal of pain--emotional, physical and economic,” the attorney said.

“Property value has depreciated because of this facility,” Yacoubian said. “On the emotional aspect, my clients can’t invite people over because you just can’t tell when it’s going to smell. Sometimes it will be just on the weekends and sometimes for days.

“Some of my plaintiffs have had physical problems. Gallagher’s asthma is now much worse because of the odor and bacteria released from the plant. He’s only in his late 20s.”

The water district acknowledges that the odors came from its facility, but the problem is now under control, said Jim Colbaugh, general manager of the water district.

“The odors were eliminated six months before the lawsuit was filed,” he said.

A device called a biofilter, the source of the fumes, has been “repaired, and we’ll rejuvenate it by this time next year,” Colbaugh said.

“For the short term, we’ve buttoned up the place,” he continued. “But in the long term, we’re installing new units next summer for reliability’s sake.”

Officials estimate that rectifying the problem may cost as much as $1 million--a fee that probably will be passed on to ratepayers.

The fertilizer camp insists their project will cost no more than the cost of repairing the biofilters. It may even cost considerably less, Triunfo’s Stark said.

But the water district contends that Triunfo does not have an equal voice at the decision-making table. The sanitation district makes up 30% of the joint powers agreement, and the water district holds the majority at 70%, said Las Virgenes counsel Lemieux.

“We’re tired of being hamstrung,” Lemieux said. “Why should Triunfo have veto power over the 70% Las Virgenes runs? Thirty over 70? That’s undemocratic.”

When Triunfo sued earlier this year, refusing to pay its share of the $2 million that was used to buy nearby property to preempt housing development, Las Virgenes in turn filed a countersuit asking to terminate the partnership, or joint powers agreement, with Triunfo.

Triunfo officials adamantly oppose the breakup, and have vowed to prevent it.

They have requested that Las Virgenes prepare an environmental report on a breakup, which could cost up to $2 million--a fee the district likely will pass on to ratepayers, Stark said.

Agencies’ Split Would Affect 24,000 Homes

Officials in nearby cities are watching warily.

Thousand Oaks Planning Director Don Nelson said the two agencies serve 19,000 households in Los Angeles County and 5,000 in Ventura County.

If the relationship is dissolved, Triunfo would no longer be a partner but a customer to Las Virgenes. Triunfo, which is based in Ventura County, could be charged at a higher rate for use of Las Virgenes facilities, although officials said the amount is yet to be determined.

“If it’s dissolved, there really are no alternatives for residents,” Nelson said. “It’s a huge system that they’ve got in place. Their services are needed.”