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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (April 5, 2023) – It has been almost seven months since El Segundo City Council declared a local state of emergency on September 8, 2022, in response to the ongoing noxious odors and gases being emitted from the Hyperion Wastewater Treatment Plant. A lot of progress has been made since then, but there is still a long way to go.
One, if not the most, challenging aspect of resolving the odors from Hyperion is that the City of El Segundo has no jurisdiction over the plant, it is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles. Therefore, the City of El Segundo is exhausting every avenue to engage those entities that do have power and influence over the City of Los Angeles to do the right thing and rectify the failures of the Hyperion Plant.
Since the nearly catastrophic spill on July 11, 2021, El Segundo residents and businesses have continued to suffer from terrible odors and gases being released from the plant. El Segundo residents have reported that the odor has caused headaches, nausea and vomiting. In response, City Council and City leaders have advocated tirelessly on behalf of residents and businesses through meetings, phone calls, letters and other outreach with federal, state and local elected officials, City of Los Angeles officials, and the Hyperion operations team.
On September 6, 2022, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) held a public hearing where the AQMD investigator labeled El Segundo as having an “odor crisis” due to Hyperion. That night, residents packed El Segundo City Council Chambers making frightened and angry pleas for City Council to do more to address their concerns. Dr. Cyrus Rangan, a toxicologist with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, attended the meeting and stated that the Department of Public Health had serious concerns about the health effects of Hyperion on the community. Two days later, City Council declared a local state of emergency and authorized the City to issue a lawsuit against the City of Los Angeles for gross negligence regarding Hyperion.
Earlier this week the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board proposed a historic $21.7 million dollar penalty to Hyperion for releasing millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Santa Monica Bay in July of 2021. In its complaint the water board cited the City of El Segundo declaring a state of emergency, its many letters to various governing bodies, and outreach regarding the ongoing issues at Hyperion. The penalty is the largest the board has ever proposed for violations like this, reflecting the seriousness of the many management and compliance failures at Hyperion that the City has relentlessly been working to resolve.
“City Council will continue to push for updated odor mitigation and proper management of the plant,” stated El Segundo Mayor Drew Boyles. “The community demands action from Hyperion to improve the plant and continue to implement the 33 items defined in the February 11, 2022, Hyperion Ad Hoc Advisory Committee Report. Most importantly, the City has requested an air quality monitoring system with 24/7 continuous monitoring of all types of harmful emissions, including monitoring for volatile gases and NOx emissions.”
“We understand that it may take time to make these improvements,” shared Mayor Pro Tem Chris Pimentel. “We are asking for clarity, speed, and concrete benchmarks for the measures Hyperion is taking to address these issues. We also want to make sure that odor mitigation and toxin tracking are top priorities in their planning and that our community members know what to expect.”
Since declaring the state of emergency on September 8, 2022 and several months of advocating for its residents and businesses through meetings, letters, and outreach, the City has made significant progress, as follows:
First, the City is sponsoring new legislation that will expand the regulatory requirements of fence-line air-quality monitoring to include hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at wastewater treatment plants meeting certain criteria, like Hyperion. The El Segundo City Council and City leaders met with many elected officials who represent both the City of Los Angeles and the City of El Segundo, and quickly gained the support of California Senator Ben Allen and Congressman Ted Lieu. Ultimately, Assemblymember Muratsuchi, whose district was re-drafted to include El Segundo in 2022, introduced the bill on February 16, 2023, titled AB 1216 Wastewater treatment plants: monitoring of air pollutants. “AB 1216 is a transparency and accountability measure to ensure Hyperion has a proper fence-line monitoring system capable of measuring hazardous emissions,” stated Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi. “Current air-quality monitoring requirements in place are insufficient and the residents of El Segundo and other surrounding communities deserve to know the air is safe to breathe.” If passed, the new regulatory standards will go into effect January 1, 2025.
Second, an expanded Order of Abatement of 28 items was issued on January 25, 2023, from AQMD to Hyperion that addresses concerns regarding odor mitigation and management of the Hyperion wastewater treatment plant. These 28 items are a direct result of City staff and councilmembers, meeting with members of AQMD, attending AQMD hearings regarding Hyperion, making public comments and sending multiple letters to AQMD on behalf of its citizens itemizing specific requests to resolve the ongoing issues at Hyperion. “This is a big achievement towards resolving the odor and management issues at Hyperion,” said El Segundo City Manager Darrell George. “These 28 items address most of the City’s concerns and are enforceable, tracked, and verified by AQMD.”
Third, the City has secured a third-party wastewater treatment plant expert, Dr. Michael K. Stenstrom, to advise the City on realistic solutions to the odor and management concerns at Hyperion. Public Works Director for the City of El Segundo, Elias Sassoon, shared that “Hiring Dr. Stenstrom as an expert is a positive step toward resolving the issues related to Hyperion. His 40-plus years of experience with over 200 water and wastewater treatment plants are helping both the City and Hyperion.”
Finally, communication with Hyperion has improved. In response to meetings and requests of the City, Hyperion has started sending out monthly newsletters about the Hyperion Plant, notifying the city and community in advance of planned activities that might release odors, and created a much more robust Hyperion Odor Control page on their website that itemizes the projects to upgrade their odor mitigation measures. Hyperion has also complied with AQMD orders to establish a 24/7 odor reporting hotline and third-party operated air quality monitoring website which currently reports on H2S levels.
Given all these efforts and enforcements, the City is hopeful that its concerns can be resolved outside of the court room –although, it is not off the table. The City’s next steps are to work with Dr. Stenstrom to have Hyperion test the air quality for NOx, VOCs, and other pollutants of concern in addition to H2S, support Muratsuchi’s office in passing bill AB 1216, establish direct communication with AQMD to verify Hyperion’s compliance with the 28 items in the expanded order of abatement, and to persuade Hyperion to publicly provide clear and concise status updates on all of their odor mitigation projects, 33 recommendations, and AQMD compliance.
The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant treats the wastewater of approximately 4 million people in the Los Angeles region, is managed by the Los Angeles City Sanitation Bureau, and borders the City of El Segundo, where more than 17,000 residents live directly east or southeast of the facility. For more information about this issue, go to www.elsegundo.org/hyperion.
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