Complaint procedure: (Sept. 24, 2013, 11:55 a.m.) -- Sam Atwood, Media Office Manager for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, emails at midmorning re our story below. We quote his email in pertinent part. ...We [AQMD] always encourage residents to file a complaint when they detect a foul odor. They can do this 24/7 by calling 1-800-CUT-SMOG (288-7664) Residents also can report a complaint online at aqmd.gov. We need to receive complaints in order to be informed of odors. Fire departments and other emergency responders don’t always notify us of odor incidents in their jurisdiction. When a caller calls our toll-free number after-hours or on the weekend (including Monday), a SCAQMD supervising inspector is immediately paged, day or night. If the caller leaves a phone number, the inspector calls that individual to get more information. At that point the supervising inspector can decide to send a field inspector out to meet with the complainant. If an odor is detectable, the inspector will attempt to track it to its source. If the inspector can verify the odor and track it to its source, and if he or she can obtain signed complaint forms from at least six residents, the inspector can issue a Notice of Violation for nuisance odors. The source then has to fix the problem causing the odors and once that is accomplished, settle the violation with SCAQMD for a cash penalty and/or a Supplemental Environmental Project benefitting air quality above and beyond our rule requirements. Regarding yesterdays odor incident, we did receive a call around 2:30 p.m. yesterday from the Huntington Beach Fire Department informing us that they had received 40 to 50 odor complaints. SCAQMD received four complaints of odors in the area yesterday afternoon. We dispatched two inspectors and a third supervising inspector to investigate the odors. They initially went to PCH and Warner Ave., where HBFD reported smelling odors. Our inspector smelled fleeting rotten egg odors there. The inspectors went to a nearby oil production facility to see if it had experienced any breakdowns, which can be the cause of odors. It had not. Odors can be difficult to track to a source, particularly if they are dispersed over a wide area. As you know, ships and offshore oil platforms are potential sources of petroleum odors. Offshore oil platforms near Long Beach are inspected by SCAQMD inspectors. When the odor can be traced to a specific source and it is causing a nuisance to a large number of residents, SCAQMD takes action to ensure the problem does not continue. For example, in late July when Ridgeline Energy Services in Santa Fe Springs caused pungent rotten-egg odors, SCAQMD obtained an Order for Abatement from the SCAQMD Hearing Board requiring the facility to take specific steps by identified deadlines to prevent future odor incidents.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 23:30:26 +0000
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