EPA completes first phase of hazardous waste removal in Palisades, Eaton fire zones

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it has completed its Phase 1 removal of household hazardous materials from properties destroyed or heavily damaged by the Eaton and Palisades fires, in line with a 30-day timeline requested by local officials.

EPA Acting Regional Administrator Cheree Peterson made the announcement during a morning news briefing Wednesday at the county Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles.

The announcement means the wildfire debris-removal effort is now fully into Phase 2, during which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- or private contractors hired by individual property owners -- will remove all other materials from fire damaged properties, including ash, wood and other debris.

Phase 1 was initially anticipated to last for several months, but local and state authorities pushed the EPA to expedite its work and complete the process in 30 days, moving property owners closer to rebuilding.

The EPA said it's removed over 300 million tons of hazardous materials. The agency says it was able to do it quickly because it ramped up its efforts, bringing in about four times more teams than they normally do in a fire cleanup. That's about 1,700 workers on site.

Peterson noted, however, that EPA crews were unable to clear hazardous materials from several thousand properties that were deemed too dangerous to clear. Those properties were "deferred'' to Phase 2 of the debris-removal program, meaning the Corps of Engineers will handle the removal of all hazardous and other wastes from those areas.

The governor's office announced on Tuesday that more than 4,400 properties had been deferred to Phase 2, while more than 9,000 others had been cleared by the EPA.

"Thanks to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of federal and state crews, the first phase of debris cleanup is coming to a close and we can turn our focus fully to structural debris removal,'' Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement Tuesday. "Under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, crews cleaned hazardous waste from thousands of properties in less than 30 days, a record pace never seen before at this scale.''

The EPA says crews can possibly finish Phase 2 in less than a year if all residents opt into the right-of-entry program that allows the county on their properties.

"Part of that depends on how fast residents opt into the program," U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Col. Eric Swenson said. "If they wait till March 31, or if they do it today, which is why we've been encouraging, the whole unified team here behind me as well as the county, have been encouraging residents to ask questions, to be knowledgeable on the process and to make that decision so we can get crews out to remove the debris."

LA County announces Household Relief Grant

In the meantime, county supervisors say they are trying to streamline the rebuilding process with the planning and permitting departments.

They're hoping to speed up turnaround times. They also announced a new household relief grant program that will give up to $18,000 for qualified households.

"Through this program, more than $27.8 million will be directly distributed to residents whose homes were destroyed, or residents whose primary residents falls within the impacted areas," L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said.

"While we know you are pursuing financial assistance through insurance and FEMA and other sources, this is a fund designed specifically for you," L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said.

The grants can be used for any financial support a family might need as they navigate through their displacement. The deadline is March 12 and people can apply at LACountyReliefFund.com.

There's also grants for small businesses and nonprofits for up to $25,000.

The deadline for these programs is March 2.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.