Belmont Obligation Neglected

The Los Angeles school district failed for nearly two years to inspect the environmentally troubled Belmont Learning Complex for polluted runoff, in violation of a state construction permit, officials said Thursday.

L.A. Unified relied on its former developer, Temple Beaudry Partners, to conduct periodic inspections at the site near downtown before and after storms.

But the inspections stopped after the Board of Education voted in January 2000 to abandon the project amid concerns about environmental hazards.

The half-finished school sits atop a former oil field that contains methane and hydrogen sulfide gases.

“Two years ago, there was no one really in charge of Belmont,” said school board President Caprice Young.

But an official with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board said the district was required to keep tabs on runoff, even though the project had been halted.

“Just because you don’t have contractors on the site doesn’t mean that your obligations stop,” said Carlos Urrunaga, an environmental scientist with the water board.

District officials acknowledge that they should have continued to monitor runoff and erosion. But they insist the contaminants were not dangerous on the surface.

Both methane and hydrogen sulfide rapidly dissipate when they reach the surface.

“Neither would present any risk to the water or sediments leaving the property,” said Angelo Bellomo, the district’s director of environmental health and safety.

The school district must submit a revised plan to the water board by next Friday.