In a unanimous decision last night, the city’s Wastewater Advisory Committee voted not to support a proposed ban on waste transfers on city streets due to cost considerations, and instead approved an alternative plan.
The adopted measure, proposed by panel member Barbara Bradley, includes odor mitigation requirements, a study to determine the best times and locations for transfers, and the eventual use of a transfer facility that would be located on the site of the city’s future waste treatment system.
The committee elected not to support a draft ordinance that had been prepared by the City Attorney and the Environmental Sustainability staff. The measure would have prohibited the transfer of septage (septic tank waste) from one pumping truck to another in the public right-of-way.
The issue arose recently after the City Council received complaints from the public about odor and visual blight from pumping trucks parked on public streets during waste transfers. The waste is pumped into small trucks and transferred to larger vehicles, which transport it to remote dumping sites outside the city. The City Council had referred the matter to the Wastewater Advisory Committee for evaluation.
Before the vote last night, panel member Andrew Shelton reported on the results of the group’s investigation. He said the committee followed up on a recommendation from members of the community that transfers be done at the Tapia waste treatment facility in Malibu Canyon. However, he said, Tapia management “was not encouraging” about that as a current option while indicating that it may be in the future.
Another option examined, said Shelton, was to enact zoning codes to allow waste transfers on private property that the city would lease for such use. While several committee members agreed last night that it could be a potential solution, the consensus was that there may be no “politically acceptable” location.
“The million dollar question is: What would be a suitable area for the transfers?” asked committee member Steve Braband at the meeting, adding that no one is likely to want it done near his home.
Richard Sherman, the panel’s vice chair, said that he agrees with Braband. “I don’t know where you politically find an acceptable place to do this. We don’t have an industrial zone,” he said. He noted, however, that pumping trucks “are a part of the city’s infrastructure, a necessary evil.”
Committee chair Norm Haynie said he believes the problem could be resolved by implementing appropriate time, place and odor standards for waste transfer.
“We need to find a place far away from homes and do it at times when people aren’t [nearby] working in offices or going to the market,” said Haynie, adding that carbon filters, which mitigate odors, should be required on pumping trucks. “Seeing it [being done] is one thing; smelling it is not acceptable,” he said.
Representatives of Ely Jr.’s Pumping & Septic System Installations of Oxnard, which services Malibu, attended the meeting. Company owner Ely Simental Jr. told the committee he is willing to install carbon filters on his trucks to help mitigate odors.