El Segundo calls for director of LA agency overseeing Hyperion to be removed

El Segundo officials have called for new leadership at the adjacent Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, accusing the Los Angeles facility’s operator of negligence and mismanagement.

City officials, in a recent letter sent to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, demanded Barbara Romero be removed from her role as director and general manager of Los Angeles Sanitation & Environment, the agency that oversees Hyperion. In the letter, El Segundo cited “grave concerns” that Hyperion officials have been “willfully misinforming” the public about odor-causing activities at the plant.

Zachary Seidl, Bass’ spokesperson, said this week that the mayor’s team is in the process of reviewing the letter. LASAN communication officials, said earlier this week that they would respond to requests for comment on Romero’s behalf. But despite follow-up requests, they ultimately did not do so as of Friday evening.

Hydrogen sulfide odors stemming from a 2021 sewage spill at Hyperion — the largest and oldest wastewater facility in the region — have continued to plague the surrounding community, with residents complaining about headaches, nausea and other maladies as the smell has continued.

Romero was hired the same month the spill happened.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District, the region’s air quality watchdog, has issued Hyperion 70 notices of violation related to those odors over the past 2.5 years.

But, according to El Segundo’s letter, there continues to be multiple compliance and equipment failures at Hyperion. Hyperion officials, for their part, have repeatedly said they are committed to rectifying issues — and have, in fact, undertaken multiple repairs in recent months.

“Our city has been plagued by the failures in leadership and maintenance at Hyperion for over 2.5 years,” El Segundo Mayor Drew Boyles wrote in the letter, “but the activity at the plant over the past few weeks is nothing short of willful negligence and a breach of public trust and safety.”

In the past few weeks, the Feb. 23 the letter said, AQMD has issued five notices of violation to plant officials, Hyperion’s air quality monitoring website failed and electrical damage led to Hyperion storing solid waste in truck-loading areas. A clarifier that was still in the process of getting a new cover was also nonetheless used to prevent waste backup at the plant when equipment failed during recent storms. And Hyperion had delayed, incomplete or nonexistent communication with the community about odor-causing activities at the plant, the letter said.

Hyperion and LASAN officials, El Segundo said in the letter, willfully misinformed the city about tank cleaning and other activities at the plant that were causing odor spikes early last month, instead blaming it on the rain storms.

The recent string of failures and compliance breaches at Hyperion, Boyles wrote, have made it clear that there are significant deficiencies in the management and maintenance of the facility. And that, he said, is posing serious risks to public health and the environment.

“We have absolutely zero faith in the management and leadership at Hyperion,” Boyles wrote in the letter. “We have been lied to by senior leadership about the state of the plant, and our citizens’ wellbeing (is) suffering the consequences of continuous operational failures –the city of Los Angeles cannot allow this to continue.”

El Segundo expects to hear back from Bass with an imminent action plan, city spokesperson Diane Chaaban said earlier this week.

At the end of 2023, it seemed as if the situation with Hyperion was improving, and the plant was making progress toward complying with AQMD’s orders of abatement.

Ryan Jackson, director of public works for Bass’ office, had in recent months helped bridge a gap in El Segundo’s rapport with Hyperion.

But lack of communication about issues at the facility persists, El Segundo said in its letter.

“We thought we established improved lines of communication,” the letter said. “However, it appears that has all fallen apart.”

In 2002, El Segundo planned to file a lawsuit against LASAN, but later decided not to since issues with Hyperion had appeared to be improving.

But now, Chaaban said, a lawsuit against L.A. is not off the table.

“We refuse to stand idly by while our constituents suffer the consequences of the gross mismanagement of Hyperion by the City of Los Angeles,” El Segundo’s letter said. “The (director) position must be replaced with an individual with extensive expertise and training in wastewater management, unquestionable integrity, and dedication to upholding the highest standards of environmental protection and regulatory compliance.”