Flores Proposes City Environment Agency

Recognizing the scope and severity of environmental problems in Los Angeles, City Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores proposed Friday the creation of a department of environment to deal with the city’s filthy air, contaminated ground water, polluted waterways, overburdened sewers and congested neighborhoods.

More than a dozen city departments now handle environmental issues in one form or another, creating a fragmented bureaucracy that Flores said has little ability or inclination to tackle pollution and other problems from a citywide perspective.

As an example, she pointed to a controversial proposal two years ago to build an incineration plant in South-Central Los Angeles that was promoted by the Bureau of Sanitation but did not adequately consider traffic, health and other concerns.

Flores said the new department, which would have its own citizens commission, could coordinate environmental policies, serve as an advocate within city government and respond to questions from the public. She said it could also work with regional and state organizations that deal with the environment so that the city is not taken by surprise, for example, when a hazardous waste facility receives a permit to operate.

“The problems are getting closer and closer to home, and it is getting more and more scary,” said Flores, who represents the heavily industrialized 15th District, which extends from Watts to Los Angeles Harbor. “We need one central department responsible for telling us how things interrelate and what actions we need to take to prevent them from getting any worse.”

The proposal, which the council referred to its Governmental Operations Committee, puts in writing an idea that has been circulating around City Hall and that seems to have some initial support. The Environmental Quality Board, a citizens advisory group appointed by the mayor, has been talking about putting a similar recommendation in a report this spring. Deputy Mayor Mike Gage said the mayor’s office also has been looking into the idea.

“It is still under consideration, but frankly we haven’t figured out how to exactly do it in a way that makes sense,” Gage said. “I think (Flores’) concept has merit. We will just have to see how it might be done.”

Last month, a task force of Los Angeles business leaders warned in a report prepared for Mayor Tom Bradley that the city has only “limited strategic planning” on environmental programs, leaving each department to manage its environmental affairs on its own. The task force recommended creation of a department of environmental quality, and also proposed an inter-city agency to tackle problems of solid waste, air pollution and waste-water management throughout the Los Angeles area.

Should Get Priority

The city had a Department of Environmental Quality in the early 1970s, but politics and tight budget times led to its demise after four years. Flores said she expects the issue of money to come up again but that environmental problems in the city have gotten so bad that the department should be considered a financial priority.

“It is going to be a fight,” Flores said. “It is going to cost us. But I don’t think there is any question that it will be cheaper than the cost of not doing something now. I don’t know if you you can put a dollar value on the environment.”

Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky, head of the Finance Committee, said the proposal could actually save money by doing away with costly duplication of environmental staff in existing departments. But Yaroslavsky, who seconded Flores’ motion on the new department, predicted that the proposal will meet opposition within the city’s bureaucracy.

“In a bureaucracy where power is measured by the size of your budget, I am sure it will be resisted by some,” he said. “But if the environmental aspects of the city’s operations were consolidated, it would probably be a very constructive development.”

Felicia Marcus, an environmental activist and member of the city’s Environmental Quality Board, said a centralized department would make life easier for residents concerned about pollution in their neighborhoods or simply looking for an answer to a question.

“Right now, people get passed around,” Marcus said. “It can take them 15 phone calls to get an answer to a question. It is a fairly unpleasant game to play and it takes an incredible amount of persistence.”

Several city officials said they are concerned that a new department might make matters worse by adding yet another level of government. Councilman Michael Woo, who heads the Governmental Operations Committee, said he would have to be convinced that the new department “really does help the situation by streamlining procedures” before he could support it.