Newport cleared of improper dumping

Paul Clinton

NEWPORT BEACH -- An internal investigation has vindicated the city’s

long-standing practice of sending dried-out sewage to an Irvine landfill.

An outside attorney hired to examine the practice said the city did

not violate any state laws by sending the refuse to the Frank R. Bowerman

Landfill.

The disposal of the materials “does not violate any statute or the

regulations governing the operation of the landfill,” attorney Philip D.

Kohn wrote in a March 29 memo to City Attorney Bob Burnham.

The disposal of the waste also is not prohibited under the permits

governing the operation of the landfill, Kohn concluded.

After 12 years of sending the waste to the landfill, the city decided

to route it to the Orange County Sanitation District after the practice

came to light in early February.

Along with that decision, the city hired Kohn to review the propriety

of the practice.

“I believe the city was proper in conducting this independent review,”

Councilman Dennis O’Neil said. “I am pleased to learn that the attorney

has concluded that we have violated no law.”

The city had been failing to test the waste -- which consisted mainly

of eggshells, sediment and raw sewage -- for heavy metals before sending

it to the landfill.

State public health safety codes set standards for the maximum

permitted levels of the various metals. If levels exceed those standards,

the dumped material is classified as hazardous waste.

After the city’s practice came to light, local environmental

regulators had at first said it was improper. They softened their stance

when the city spent $5,000 for a battery of tests of the waste.

“It’s more innocuous than I ever thought it would be,” said Dixie

Lass, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board’s land disposal

chief. “There’s nothing there.”

In his 18-page report, Kohn said the dumping of “dewatered sewage

sludge” was not prohibited. Prior to sending the waste to the landfill,

it was dried out in piles at the city’s General Services yard.

The city paid Kohn, an attorney at Cost Mesa law firm Rutan & Tucker,

less than $10,000 for the the work, officials said.

City Manager Homer Bludau said the investigation was a learning

experience for city leaders who knew little about the ins and outs of

landfill permits.

“It closes the book for now, but it has stimulated a lot of

discussion,” Bludau said. “It wasn’t something that had great clarity in

people’s minds.”

* Paul Clinton covers the environment, John Wayne Airport and

politics. He may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

paul.clinton@latimes.comf7 .