Foothill cities oppose EPA plan to use Lario Park to process hazardous debris from Eaton Fire
DUARTE, Calif. (KABC) -- The cities of Duarte, Azusa, Irwindale and Baldwin Park have opposed federal plans to use Lario Park as a site for processing hazardous household debris from the Eaton Fire.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has already prepared the site at 15701 East Foothill Boulevard with spill control measures and plans to monitor air quality during operations set to begin next week.
However, the cities argue they were not given prior notice or a chance to weigh in, raising concerns about the potential environmental impact and proximity to residents.
"While the cities are completely in solidarity with our neighboring communities, we are extremely disappointed with the lack of respect to our local residents for not being notified of the EPA's clean up efforts and having toxic materials transported to our backyards,'' according to a statement from the city of Duarte.
On Tuesday evening, dozens packed the Duarte City Council meeting to voice concerns.
"This is literally happening in the middle of our community," one woman said at the meeting. "Our health, our physical and mental health matters."
"They think they're just going to pull one over on us, and that we're going to sit back and just take it and allow them to do this to our city," another resident told the City Council.
Also at the meeting was EPA incident commander Tara Fitzgerald, who said the agency chose the site, which is 16 miles away from the wildfire's destruction, because other ideal sites closer to it were occupied by other first responders.
"We did fail to inform the city of Duarte," Fitzgerald said when grilled by the City Council.
"Everybody was failed to be informed," Councilmember Margaret Finlay responded.
Azusa Councilman Andrew Mendez shared a video on Instagram, saying he's "in firm opposition of these efforts and will not sit idly by."
"Why it was selected? We do not know," he said in the video. "Currently, right now, what we're dealing with is kind of a passing of the buck, which is super unfortunate, with each different person, different agency, pointing the finger, [saying] 'We didn't know. We didn't know.' Nonetheless, I absolutely oppose this."
Mendez is also asking people to contact Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis for answers.
"Our concern was, we were never notified. What is the inventory of hazardous waste that's coming? what does it look like?" Azusa Mayor Robert Gonzales said.
Gonzales says one of his big concerns - all of the electric vehicle batteries that will be brought to the city.
"These things are explosive, they're biohazardous, and yet you're bringing it 16 miles from the actual burn scar to our communities," he said.
According to the EPA, this land is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers and has been leased to L.A. County, even though it is within the city limits of Irwindale.
A statement issued by the EPA said, in part:
"To protect the environment, EPA has lined all processing areas with plastic and installed protective measures like wattles, booms, earthen berms, and gravel. EPA will conduct perimeter air monitoring, and a water truck will spray three times daily to control dust. All materials will be transported safely from the burn area to the staging area following Department of Transportation standards to protect our water, land, and air."
Still, for those who live right around the corner from the park, there are concerns.
"My biggest concern is I guess, how are they transporting? What safety measures are they taking? How do we prevent this crud from getting into our community?" said Duarte resident Jeremy Treat.
An EPA spokesperson told Eyewitness News that more could have been done to reach out to the surrounding communities, even though the agency did engage with the property owners as well as L.A. County.
How will the hazardous debris site at Lario Park work?
Fire debris, including lithium electric vehicle batteries and other possible hazardous material, will be brought into the site daily, processed into appropriate waste streams, packaged for shipment and sent out to be disposed, federal officials said.
The EPA said it will use a water truck for routine dust suppression to minimize visible emissions and conduct post-sampling of the site to ensure no negative impacts.
Trucks will use backroads from the fire area to Lario Park to avoid Interstate 210. Once processed for shipping or disposal, only U.S. Department Transportation approved trucks will transport materials to selected disposal facilities via the "quickest authorized paths,'' according to the EPA.
Rusty Harris-Bishop with the EPA says the debris would be handled in a safe manner throughout the process.
"We sample the property before we start it to see what the conditions were. We'll sample the property after," he said.
The cities plan to formally oppose the site and push for its closure as quickly as possible, according to the city of Duarte.
"You have to understand this is an emergency response," Harris-Bishop said when asked if he wanted to apologize for not informing the community before starting work. "Every day that we are not able to get materials off of the Eaton and Palisades burn areas that's another day that people can't start the process of rebuilding."
The EPA will also be present at a town hall meeting organized by the cities surrounding the park. That town hall is set to take place Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Duarte Performing Arts Center.
Residents who are concerned with the EPA's plans can call the agency at 1-833-798-7372.
City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify Lario Park is within the city limits of Irwindale.
