Hyperion Updates
February 12, 2024
Below are the most recent updates on the situation with the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles.
- CITY EFFORTS REGARDING HYPERION
- The City received numerous complaints of odors from residents the week of January 28th, particularly January 29th and 30th.
- City staff immediately contacted Hyperion leadership who stated that they investigated the smell and found everything to be in working order; however, City staff later learned from AQMD that they issued two notices of violation(NOVs) to Hyperion on January 28th and 30th for odor.
- AQMD says the odor on January 28th was caused by washing of the primary tanks in Battery D. They are still investigating the cause on January 30th.
- City staff and Hyperion Ad Hoc Committee members immediately contacted LASAN leadership about the lack of communication and transparency regarding Hyperion operations that impact our residents.
- As a result, on February 5th, the City Manager received a call from General Manager of LASAN Barbara Romero, and COO of LASAN Tracy Minamide apologizing for the misinformation, and that they have instructed Hyperion staff to keep them apprised of all work and to notify the City when their maintenance operations impact El Segundo residents.
- Ad Hoc Committee member and Environmental Committee Chair Tracey Miller-Zarneke met with L.A. City Public Works Commissioner Susana Reyes and LASAN Governmental Relations representative Marisela Reyes to reiterate our residents’ experiences living near Hyperion and relayed our frustration about the lack of communication and transparency from Hyperion to forewarn our community about projects that emit excessive odor. They promised to dive deeper into the communication issues at Hyperion. The City will follow up with them on their findings and communication improvements.
- As noted above, AQMD issued two NOVs to Hyperion for odor on January 28th and 30th.
- On January 24th, AQMD held a Hearing Board meeting about Hyperion’s order of abatement related to odors. Because there are still requirements due from Hyperion in June of 2024, the board extended Hyperion’s compliance deadline from January 31, 2024 to August 30, 2024. No new requirements were added to the order of abatement.
- The next AQMD Hearing Board meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held on July 31, 2024.
- On February 2nd, Hyperion’s air quality monitoring website experienced a service outage between 4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Only the display website was impacted by this service outage; the fence line monitoring system remained fully operational, and no data was lost. Read the full Fence Line Monitoring Website - Service Restored notice here.
- The extreme rain in early February caused an increase in flow of approximately 1 billion gallons into Hyperion - maximum flow is 800 million gallons - that affected the pumping system. As a result Hyperion had to utilize the 1-mile outflow pipeline for 45 minutes on February 5th to discharge treated water and relieve the overage. Read the full Primary Battery D Tanks Temporarily Placed in Service notice here.
- Cleaning activities for Hyperion Primary Battery D tanks are slated to begin during the week of February 12th and continue through June 6th. Some weekend work may be necessary. Read the full Primary Battery D Update here.
-
According to Hyperion, the high inflow and storm that occurred between February 3 and 7, 2024, damaged some of the process equipment at the plant. Therefore, there were some cleaning and working activities at various locations this past weekend (February 10 - 11, 2024) that might continue on following weekends until the end of February. Plant staff is taking extra efforts to reduce odor release.
The most up to date information on the situation with Hyperion can be found on the City's website at www.elsegundo.org/hyperion.
Hyperion Tank Cleaning Activity Through June 2024
 Hyperion staff will begin cleaning activities for Primary Battery D during the week of February 12, 2024. The work will be performed Monday through Fridays, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and some weekend work may be necessary. Weekend cleaning activities are expected to occur throughout the month of February.
This cleaning is required to conduct other work essential to reliable operations of the primary treatment process, such as repairs of the internal components and the replacement of tank covers. All activities are anticipated to be completed by June 6, 2024, and measures will be in place to best mitigate odors.
If you have any questions, please contact the LASAN Community Outreach Team at (213) 485-3221, or at LASAN.CleanWater.Outreach@lacity.org.
Click here to read the full: Primary Battery D Update, February 3, 2024
|
