An environmental advocacy group is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging the agency is withholding records concerning its response to the June fire at the Lineage Logistics cold-storage facility in Boyle Heights that raged for days, led to millions of pounds of rotting food and emitted toxic and hazardous substances that impacted nearby residents, according to documents obtained Thursday.
California Communities Against Toxics alleges in the complaint filed in federal court that EPA is failing to comply with the Freedom of Information Act’s mandatory deadlines for the release of information.
The nonprofit group stated it is seeking all ground-based monitoring data related to air pollution and official communications from Los Angeles city and county officials and others concerning the extent of possible chemical contamination caused by the fire. CCAT alleges that large amounts of ammonia were released into the air as a result of the blaze.
“EPA’s FOIA violations have thwarted CCAT’s efforts to timely receive records in EPA’s possession, have hampered CCAT’s efforts to serve as an effective public interest watchdog over the EPA’s activities and threaten to interfere with CCAT’s ability to use the records in its ongoing advocacy efforts related to alerting the public of issues concerning health risks from the Lineage chemical disaster,” according to the suit filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court.
CCAT is described as a nonprofit environmental justice organization that works to protect communities from industrial pollutants. CCAT’s members “are located throughout the Boyle Heights neighborhood where the chemical disaster is taking place. EPA’s air monitoring and communications regarding the chemical disaster caused by the facility are a matter of great public interest,” the plaintiffs stated.
The organization says it uses FOIA as an avenue for gaining information about federal agency activities pertinent to its environmental justice mission. In the Lineage case, EPA has not published its monitoring data or communications regarding its response to the disaster, the group said.
An EPA representative said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
“CCAT is harmed when it is denied timely access to records which it is entitled to,” according to the lawsuit. “Without this information, CCAT cannot successfully serve as an effective public interest watchdog ensuring that the federal government is lawfully fulfilling its legal obligations, commitments and acting in the public interest.”
CCAT, along with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and Protect LA Now, filed a similar civil suit Tuesday in Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles against the city and its fire department.
An investigation led by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control appeared to be underway Tuesday at the burned-out Lineage warehouse.
In a statement this week, the company said harmful chemicals were not stored at the warehouse.
“Our industry is regulated by dozens of agencies, and we regularly work with them collaboratively and transparently,” the company said. “To be clear, we do not store hazardous chemicals or products in this facility. We store food. Further, the facility’s ammonia refrigeration system was safely pumped out shortly after the fire began and before the fire reached the refrigeration system.
“The ammonia was subsequently removed from the site. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported no ammonia was detected during its response, and subsequent environmental monitoring has consistently shown results within normal levels for the neighborhood and no ammonia concentrations above health-based action levels. We have shared relevant testing and monitoring information on our website and with regulatory agencies and will continue to do so.”
The fire erupted June 17 at the facility at 1400 S. Los Palos St. It raged for days and led to millions of pounds of rotting food, impacting nearby residents. Lineage eventually completed a massive cleanup effort at the site.
The cause of the fire remains officially undetermined, but investigators found that the blaze originated on the roof at or near a section of solar panels. Lineage has sued Altus Power Inc., owner of the solar array on the building’s roof, and contractor Pearce Services, alleging they were responsible for starting the fire.
A representative of Los Palos Street Operating, an Altus subsidiary, has disputed Lineage’s allegations and said the company would contest the claims in court.