Mecca Foul Odor
Executives at a solid and liquid waste recycling plant in Mecca identified as the source of offensive fumes that have sickened area residents agreed today to permanently modify operations to eliminate the odors.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Western Environmental Inc. pledged in a signed agreement to change operations for the better at its facility on the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians’ reservation.
“Today’s agreement includes binding commitments for the facilities to identify and eliminate the odors that have plagued Mecca,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Director Jared Blumenfeld. “Our efforts are part of a collaboration with the Cabazon Tribe to ensure that the facilities operate in a way that protects human health.”
Blumenfeld said the action is being taken in concert with the state, which has cited Western Environmental for air quality violations.
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the agreement was necessary to safeguard the “health and safety of local families.”
“I will only be satisfied when Western Environmental has eliminated the source of the noxious odors that have made some area residents sick,” Boxer said.
“I am fully committed to closely monitoring the clean-up process to ensure that the problem is resolved once and for all.”
The agreement requires Western Environmental and its affiliate firm, Waste Reduction Technologies, to do the following:
— install an odor-control misting system; — increase scrutiny of the types of waste being transported into the facility; — measure and record levels of potential odor-causing substances; — improve handling measures to control odors; and — only accept materials consistent with the previously approved “work plan.”
The EPA has expressly prohibited Western Environmental from treating contaminated soils, biosolids and soy whey wastes because of their intense stench.
Federal regulators also previously directed the recycler to reduce the size of refuse piles, use polymers and grass to treat them and use sheeting to cover compost mounds containing soy.
Until recently, Western Environmental officials argued that the fumes were not emanating from its plant, citing independent studies.
Concerns over the rancid smell came to the fore last fall when more than a dozen people, including students, at Saul Martinez Elementary School were so nauseated they were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Recess breaks were limited because of the odors, which have generated more than 200 complaints to the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
The agency issued a citation against Western Environmental in May for violations of the California Health & Safety Code.
AQMD Executive Director Barry Wallerstein said the recycling plant, which handles soils contaminated by petroleum products and other chemicals, had been “the source of chronic odor problems for months.”
A Western Environmental spokesman, along with Cabazon Indian Chief David Roosevelt, pointed out that the plant was providing a vital service to the community and state by getting rid of environmentally harmful substances.
