The Lineage LLC warehouse in Boyle Heights has become the center of a growing controversy as residents continue to report intolerable odors from decomposing food. Following a fire last month that burned for a week, the situation has escalated, prompting air quality officials to take decisive action.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) has given Lineage until Tuesday to present a comprehensive plan to mitigate the odors. This deadline comes after residents filed more than 900 complaints of rotten, sour, garbage-type smells last week. The agency has outlined over 20 odor control measures that Lineage must implement to comply with state law.
Escalating Enforcement and Potential Consequences
The demand letter from South Coast AQMD marks an escalation in enforcement tactics. The agency has been working with Lineage for weeks to recommend ways to lessen the spread of odors, but Lineage has not yet incorporated several key actions. The demand letter outlines specific steps, such as applying odor neutralizer to food waste and trucks, requiring coverings for parked trucks loaded with food waste, and notifying the community of any activities that may increase odors.
Lineage reports that it has been attempting to mitigate the rancid smells coming from its warehouse. The company states that it is using a variety of approaches, including physical barriers, applying a bleach solution, running mist deodorizing systems, and applying deodorizers directly to the debris. However, the South Coast AQMD has issued notices of violation to Lineage for at least seven consecutive days, starting July 12 for discharging air contaminants that cause injury, detriment, nuisance, or annoyance to a considerable number of persons.
Potential Fines and Legal Action
According to the South Coast AQMD, violators of state air quality regulations face a sliding scale of penalties depending on the severity. The base civil penalties range from $5,000 per day for a simple violation to $75,000 daily if a person willfully and intentionally emits an air contaminant in violation of state law. Those penalties could be $100,000 or more if the contaminants are found to have harmed anyone.
The demand letter also notified Lineage that South Coast AQMD planned to start a process that could lead to the company being fined or sued. UCLA environmental health professor Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne noted that criminal cases against companies responsible for air contamination are more difficult to bring to trial compared to other forms of accountability. Prosecutors have to show that the company intentionally did something bad and knew about it, making civil lawsuits a more common path to compliance.
Ongoing Concerns and Community Impact
Another ongoing question is whether the warehouse continues to be a source of air pollutants. A tracker on Lineage’s website shows that on July 15 and 17 the most recently reported days, the air quality was within EPA guidelines for all contaminants measured, including carbon monoxide and ammonia. However, Ornelas Van Horne emphasized the importance of reevaluating the guidelines for acute exposure, as it has now been over a month since the warehouse caught fire.
The situation has also raised concerns about the impact of the cleanup process on the community. The waste is being hauled away by trucks that can hold 20 tons at once. Ornelas Van Horne pointed out that these trucks may pose health concerns of their own, similar to those near warehouses across L.A. County and the Inland Empire. The cleanup process involves additional diesel trucks coming into the community, which can be harmful to health.
Lineage Chief Operations Officer Jeff Rivera expressed confidence that the company is on track to remove all waste by the city’s deadline. However, the pace of cleanup remains a concern, with only about 3.5% of the total food waste cleared out to date. The company will need to accelerate its efforts to meet the city’s mid-August deadline.
