7-day clock begins for disinfecting and final cleanup
Diamond Bar, CA – 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.
With all bulk food waste removed, the 7-day clock has started for Lineage to complete final clean-up activities that include complete debris removal, power washing, and disinfecting of Freezer 1. Negative air pressure must be maintained inside the building during this work, and air pollution control equipment must continue to operate.
On August 6, South Coast AQMD’s Hearing Board approved an Order for Abatement requiring Lineage Logistics, LLC to take actions to reduce odors from the facility during cleanup activities. The enforceable Order contains more than 90 conditions designed to contain, reduce, and eliminate odorous emissions focusing on waste removal from Freezer 1, including maintaining a strict waste removal schedule, with at least 8.8 million pounds of food waste removed each week and transported off-site as quickly and safely as possible. It also requires all waste to be removed through the covered loading dock, with no food waste remaining on loading docks for more than 30 minutes, and requires odor capture and neutralizing agents to be applied immediately to exposed food waste.
Since July 12, South Coast AQMD has received more than 4,900 odor complaints from surrounding communities reporting persistent rotten, sour and garbage-like odors. South Coast AQMD issued 38 Notices of Violation from July 12 through August 25 for public nuisance under Rule 402 and California Health and Safety Code § 41700.
South Coast AQMD continues to conduct daily facility inspections and air monitoring in Boyle Heights. If the facility continues to cause public nuisance odors or fails to meet the Order for Abatement, South Coast AQMD may pursue further enforcement, including higher penalties, additional Notices of Violation or seeking to modify the Order through the Hearing Board.
Residents can report odors or air quality concerns to 1-800-CUT-SMOG, through the South Coast AQMD app or at aqmd.gov. Continuous monitoring data and additional resources are available at www.aqmd.gov/palos.
South Coast AQMD is the regulatory agency responsible for improving air quality for large areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, including the Coachella Valley. For news, air quality alerts, event updates and more, please visit us at www.aqmd.gov, download our award-winning app, or follow us on Facebook, X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram.