Mecca Smell Clean Up Begins
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday it had pinpointed the source of a foul smell that has plagued the small town in the eastern Coachella Valley of Southern California.
The EPA ordered Western Environmental, Inc., to take immediate steps to address what it called “potentially harmful emissions” coming from its Mecca waste handling facility.
The facility is located on the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Reservation.
Mounds of untreated contaminated soil have accumulated at the site and now stand more than forty-feet high.
The first step of the order is to stop receiving any contaminated materials unless approved by the EPA.
The EPA Administrative Order against Western Environmental and a related company, Waste Reduction Technologies, sets forth immediate measures and a schedule to control the source of odors from the Western Environmental facility. The order requires the facility to use stabilizing agents or cover sheeting on the stockpiled material to prevent the release of noxious air emissions.
The order is a breath of fresh air for people in Mecca. “I think it’s absolute essential,” said Mark Jorgensen. “We live in a state with 39 million people, just because you can skirt some environmental regulations, on an indian reservation or a private ranch, doesn’t mean the rest of us should have to be subjected to that.”
While Western Environmental makes changes, members of the community are still suffering. “We’ve had all age groups, children through adults with bizarre, unusual dizziness, light-headedness, and some sinus type congestion,” said Dr. Randolph Gibbs, a family doctor at the Mecca Medical Clinic. “Usually we attribute this to allergies but at the present time we’re considering air contamination.”
The doctor is hopeful the residents’ health will improved with the new changes.
