The Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant could soon have new state rules to follow.
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, will introduce a new state bill in the coming weeks that would possibly require the wastewater recycling facility and its operator, Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment, to do more to mitigate odors caused by hydrogen sulfide, which have lingered for nearly two years.
Officials with LASAN and the city of Los Angeles have repeatedly say they are working hard to fix various issues and are eager to address odor complaints.
But El Segundo residents say they have been continually plagued by hydrogen sulfide odors since a July 2021 backup at Hyperion caused the facility to flood and spill millions of gallons of sewage into the ocean. The incident, officials said then, nearly crippled Hyperion, the region’s largest and oldest wastewater reclamation facility.
The potential legislation would expand on the Muratsuchi-authored Assembly Bill 1647 — which was enacted in 2017 and required oil refineries to install community and fence-line air quality monitors to keep track of toxic chemicals — to large wastewater facilities, such as Hyperion. Fence-line monitors are already in place around Hyperion’s perimeter, but adding monitors in neighborhoods would further allow officials to detect the odors residents continue to complain about.
“It’s a transparency and accountability measure to put pressure on Hyperion,” Muratsuchi said, “in hopes that Hyperion will do the right thing and address the problems.”
Muratsuchi will introduce the legislation, which is still currently unnumbered, as a spot — or placeholder — proposal before the Feb. 17 deadline to introduce new bills. He’ll introduce the official bill before committee hearings begin in March.
If all goes smoothly, the bill could be on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for consideration by September, Muratsuchi said. It would first need to get through committees and be passed by both the…
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