State Denies Permit to Toxic Waste Site

As a soft summer breeze wafted the smell of solvents past them, a group of Athens residents Tuesday stood outside the hazardous waste site they spent seven years trying to shut down and savored victory.

Behind the 8-foot cinder block wall encircling the site, men wearing protective masks continued work. In front, residents--some of whom live only yards from the treatment complex--spoke of their relief that the chemical spills and searing fumes they had long complained about might soon end.

“I’m just so happy thinking it’s going to be out of here,” said Gertrude Pitts outside her home, which abuts the waste site.

The celebration followed Tuesday morning’s announcement that the California Department of Toxic Substance Control had decided not to issue a permit allowing Statewide Environmental Services to continue operating the facility.

Among other reasons for its decision, the department cited numerous violations of regulations during Statewide’s seven years storing chemicals at the site. Those violations included improperly storing waste material, mixing incompatible chemicals and releasing dangerous fumes.

The company has 30 days to file an appeal, said department spokesman Ron Baker. If it fails to appeal or if its appeal is rejected, the company must begin leaving the property, he said.

In a written statement, the company said that the department’s ruling was “based on insufficient and inaccurate information” and that it would appeal. An attorney for Statewide, Diana Martin, declined further comment.

Despite the possibility of an appeal, residents of the mostly African American and Latino neighborhood remained ebullient. And they drew praise from a national environmental group.

“It’s a huge victory in the community, but it’s also emblematic of the environmental justice movement in general,” said David Beckman, an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental group that provided free legal support to the Athens residents. “It’s about a community . . . demanding that something be done. The message is that it takes some time, but it gets done.”

The fight to remove the plant did take time: seven years.

Though the half-acre site has been used to store waste for 25 years, neighbors said that serious problems began when Statewide bought the Main Street plant in 1991. Given a temporary authorization from the state, the company started storing industrial oil and solvents for clients before transporting them to landfills, recyclers or incinerators.

Neighbors said the chemical smell--a lot like nail polish remover--grew worse.

“It burns your eyes. Your nose runs. And me, with my heart condition!” said Pitts, 69.

The Rev. Lafayette Williams lived within 100 yards of the site until he moved last year. Williams said he and three neighbors needed hospital treatment after one episode seven years ago when wind blew noxious fumes over their homes. The company later gave each about $3,500 in an out-of-court settlement, Williams said.

But the complaints continued. Residents said talking to Statewide’s owner brought little success, so they organized, forming the Community Coalition for Change. The effort paid off, but not without years of exposure to fumes from the plant, said Rahman Shabazz, president of the neighborhood coalition.

“The wheels of justice grind too slowly,” he said.