Sewage raises a stink

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Residents living around the sewage treatment plant at

Pacific Coast Highway and Brookhurst Street think the Orange County

Sanitation District’s proposal to expand its facility stinks --

literally.

“It smells in our neighborhood,” John Ely said. “We’ll put up with what

we’ve got, but we’re not going to put up with more.”

To meet the needs of a growing population, the district plans to spend

$1.5 billion over the next 20 years upgrading equipment and increasing

the capacity of its plants, spokeswoman Michele Tuchman said.

Before moving ahead, the district needs to give greater consideration to

the impact that treating more waste will have on air quality, said Ely,

who represents the Southeast Huntington Beach Neighborhood Assn. The

district must do a better job of containing awful odors, he said.

“Obviously, what they’re doing right now isn’t working,” he said.

Despite such concerns, the district last week approved an environmental

impact report that clears the way for the expansion.

When you’re working with raw sewage, odors can’t be helped, but they can

be minimized, Tuchman said.

“I think the efforts have been good,” she said. “Can we do more? Sure.

Will we do more? Absolutely.”

The district plans to spend $6 million controlling odors at the

Huntington Beach plant, she said. Within the next 12 months, the plant

will close four 15-square-foot open containers where sewage is kept, she

said.

It’s not just the smell that bothers neighbors, but the bleach-smelling

odors that come from the chemicals treating the waste, Ely said.

Within the next three years, the district will replace smelly chemicals

with “good bacteria” that will clean the sewage, Tuchman said.

Neighbors who wish to lodge complaints can call the district at 593-7025,

but John Scott, the neighborhood association’s chairman, said that

accomplishes little. He thinks the air quality district needs to take a

closer look at the way the plant operates.

The state agency will review the sanitation district’s plans before

they’re implemented, senior air quality engineer Charles Tupak said.

No citations for violations of air quality regulations have been issued

at the plant during the past year, said Ed Muelbacher, a supervisor for

the district.