2023-02-07 CC Agenda - Public Communication related to Hyperion2023-02. 07 1DA
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Harada, Patricia
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Please post to the website.
"Tracy
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
Weaver, Tracy (City Clerk)
Tuesday, January 24, 2023 4:35 PM
Harada, Patricia; Sandoval, Lili
Fwd: Public comment, Case No. 1212-40 (Hyperion Order of Abatement)
From: Erin Falati <erinfalati@gmail.com>
Date: January 24, 2023 at 3:53:07 PM PST
To: clerkofboard@aqmd.gov
Cc: ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS <ALLELECTEDOFFICIALS@elsegundo.org>
Subject: Public comment, Case No. 1212-40 (Hyperion Order of Abatement)
To the members of the AQMD Hearing Board,
I am aware that you will be meeting to review the order of abatement for Hyperion tomorrow, January
25. While I am hoping to attend and make a public comment during the webcast, I would like to submit
my comments via email as well as to make sure I am heard.
I have been a resident of El Segundo since 2019. My husband was raised in El Segundo and has been a
resident here intermittently since the 1970's. We decided to move our family to El Segundo and now
because of the Hyperion disaster, we regret it daily.
I cannot emphasize enough how detrimental the effects of the Hyperion spill in July 2021, and the
subsequent complete mismanagement of the situation, has been on my family's lives.
Since July 2021, 1 have had to make odor complaints to AQMD hundreds of times. Once I make my
complaint, I have to wait around for an AQMD Inspector to hopefully return my call. I have to be
available to receive the callback and give them more information. Then, if and only if enough members
of the community have also called AQMD at the same time as I have, an inspector will come to ES to
investigate. I have to be at my residence to meet the AQMD inspector whenever they arrive. Sometimes
this process takes hours. If the AQMD inspector then smells the same odor as I am smelling (hours later)
then we have "confirmed" the odor. It takes 6 of these confirmations to issue a NOV. While I am aware
AQMD has issued 70+ NOVs to Hyperion since 2021, 1 am convinced that the numbers would be in the
hundreds if AQMD had adequate staff and could investigate the odors in a timely fashion. This process
takes up so much of my time on an almost daily basis, and I've had to do this for the past year and a half.
Now, in addition to this process, the residents of ES have also been asked to contact Hyperion. We have
to make a separate call, leave our information, and then wait for someone from Hyperion to call us back
with an update (which happens maybe 50% of the time despite my requests always to be called back).
Hyperion staff is always defensive and usually states "no odors are detected" and that their "equipment
is within compliance." It is gaslighting and makes us feel like we are losing our minds to hear that the
facility so negatively impacting our lives says there's nothing wrong. Having to call Hyperion is akin to
having to call our abuser for help. Hyperion has caused environmental, physical, and emotional/mental
abuse since July 2021. Additionally, their monitors are not always in working order and they only
monitor for 1-12S. We know the are many more chemicals being emitted by Hyperion that we are being
exposed to chronically, and no one is monitoring that.
My family and I have experienced tangible physical ailments from the constant (read: daily) odors from
Hyperion. We experience almost daily headaches, nausea, insomnia, agitation, skin rashes, coughing,
and other respiratory and inflammatory issues. My young children cannot play outside, and I spend
most days driving them to other cities so they can play in fresh air. We cannot enjoy our home; all
activities that might cause air exchange from the outdoors (such as laundry, cooking) have to be timed
for when the odor is minimal. I cringe every time I take my kids to school or pick them up and can smell
the stench of sewage. I have to think about the damage being done to their little bodies on a daily basis.
The mental distress and anguish this seemingly hopeless situation has caused has taken quite a toll on
all of us.
In short, absolutely nothing has changed since July 2021 and it is extremely clear that LA Sanitation does
not take the situation seriously, and are not competent and definitely not accountable enough to be
able to run Hyperion.
I implore you to FORCE changes. It is not enough to keep threatening Hyperion with NOVs and trying to
make them do their own odor patrol. The residents of ES have zero trust in Hyperion and LA Sanitation.
AQMD is not doing enough and we are begging you to help us. Please make accountability and
immediate action a necessity. Please force a third party to take over operations at Hyperion as LA
Sanitation has proved time and again they are not able to. Please force the monitoring of noxious
chemicals. Please do more.
Thank you,
Erin Falati