Wave Wire Services
BOYLE HEIGHTS — Lineage Logistics has completed removal of bulk food waste at its burned-out cold storage warehouse, marking a major milestone in ongoing cleanup efforts nearly two-and-a-half months after a fire broke out at the facility and raged for days, air quality regulators said Aug. 29.
“Today, South Coast AQMD’s enforcement team was on site at Lineage Logistics in Boyle Heights and confirmed that Lineage has completed removal of the bulk food waste, marking the completion of a major phase of cleanup following weeks of persistent odors impacting surrounding communities,” the South Coast Air Quality Management District said in a statement.
“With all bulk food waste removed, the seven-day clock has started for Lineage to complete final clean-up activities,” the AQMD added.
Lineage had missed key deadlines to remove the food waste, and last week the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved five motions to help the Bureau of Sanitation and city Housing Department respond to the disaster.
The council’s vote came one day after the Planning and Land Use Management Committee recommended that no permits to rebuild or reconstruct the warehouse should be issued, and to increase fines up to $1 million for notices of violations or noncompliance.
Those two recommendations are expected to come before the full council for consideration at a future meeting.
On Sept. 1, Mayor Karen Bass urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign two bills aimed at holding cold storage companies accountable and protecting communities following industrial disasters.
Bass sponsored AB 817, introduced by Assemblyman Mark González, D-Los Angeles, which would require cold storage facilities to maintain a contingency fund before receiving a new building permit, among other provisions intended to ensure companies can respond when problems occur.
The mayor also supported SB 716, introduced by Sen. María Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, which would strengthen penalties for violations at large commercial buildings when serious incidents occur.
Both measures have passed the state Legislature and are awaiting action by Newsom, according to the mayor’s office.
“We cannot change what happened in Boyle Heights, but we can change what happens next,” Bass said.
Bass said the measures are intended to hold cold storage companies accountable when problems occur and protect surrounding communities.
“I urge Governor Newsom to sign them once they arrive on his desk,” Bass said. “I will continue doing everything in my authority to demand the answers and accountability this community deserves.’”
The mayor’s office provided testimony last week before the state Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and Senate Local Government Committee in support of AB 817.
Bass also has called on city attorneys to pursue litigation, a lien and other legal options to recover costs and seek penalties stemming from the Lineage fire. She has said Lineage and Chill Build, the warehouse’s owner, should not be permitted to rebuild at the site.
The City Council Aug. 26 approved five motions in response to the fire proposed by City Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents Boyle Heights.
One of the motions requires the Bureau of Sanitation to coordinate with Jurado’s office to prioritize sanitation requests in Council District 14 for bulky item pick up, street sweeping, power washing and dead animal removal for the next 60 days.
The Bureau of Sanitation will report on the final result of water quality testing conducted on stormwater runoff associated with the fire and sanitation officials are expected to provide an update on the requested cleanup and abatement order issued by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The Bureau of Sanitation also will report back with options to suspend homeless encampment resolution efforts in areas impacted by environmental emergencies as declared by the city or state and to codify the procedure guidelines.
In addition, for the next 60 days, the Los Angeles Housing Department will prioritize the investigation of tenant complaints related to housing code violations, the tenant anti-harassment ordinance and rent stabilization ordinance for residential properties in Boyle Heights. Additionally, housing officials are expected to report within 10 days on recommendations of increasing violation fines while an emergency declaration is in place.
Finally, the Civil and Human Rights and Equity Department will work to establish an Environmental Justice and Advocacy Advisory Commission. The new commission would be expected to provide guidance to the mayor and City Council on persistent environmental justice issues, foster sustainable education initiatives and promote equity.
“Recovery also requires us to confront the systems that allowed our community to carry such an extraordinary burden and to build lasting power for the people who live there,” Jurado said.
The fire erupted June 17 on the roof of the facility on 1400 S. Los Palos St. More than 85 million pounds of food were being stored at the warehouse, and in the days and weeks following the fire that food began to rot, spreading foul odors through the surrounding community and attracting rats, according to multiple reports.
The company said the massive removal process was “the result of hundreds of workers on site every day, first removing boxes and pallets and then, in the final stretch, removing loose food debris by hand. We are now fully focused on power washing, cleaning, and disinfecting the site.”
