BOARD VOTE POSTPONED ON WATER AT FIELD LAB.Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. - Faced with community concerns that a proposed water permit would relax enforcement at the Santa Susana Field Lab, water board members postponed a vote Thursday and asked for legal advice on whether they can overrule The refusal by a judge to sustain an objection set forth by an attorney during a trial, such as an objection to a particular question posed to a witness. To make void, annul, supersede, or reject through a subsequent decision or action. state policy and impose stricter rules at the site. The permit - to be reconsidered at the board's June 10 meeting - sets testing schedules and contamination limits for storm water and industrial runoff that drains off the hilltop site to the Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River is an intermittent river flowing through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the west end of the San Fernando Valley, 51 miles (82 km) southeast to its mouth in Long Beach. and Arroyo Simi SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative . Community activists are concerned that the permit would remove limits for some 25 pollutants, including trichloroethylene trichloroethylene /tri·chlo·ro·eth·y·lene/ (-eth´i-len) a clear, mobile liquid used as an industrial solvent; formerly used as an inhalant anesthetic. tri·chlo·ro·eth·yl·ene n. (TCE TCE trichloroethylene. TCE Environment A volatile chlorinated hydrocarbon that boils at 88ºC and is highly soluble–1000 ppm in water, with various industrial uses Toxicity Peripheral neuropathy, carcinogenic. ), which has been found at 2,000 times the allowable levels in groundwater. However, because TCE and the other contaminants haven't been detected in surface water for five years, state policy dictates that the limits be removed from the permit. Community activists argued that, because of the extensive contamination and history of pollution violations at the lab, the Regional Water Quality Control Board should overrule state policy and impose more stringent contamination limits and frequent testing. ``Why should you hamstring your power to enforce,'' asked Dan Hirsch, lab watchdog and president of Committee to Bridge the Gap. ``It is a unique site and you should use your best professional judgment to protect the public.'' But the Boeing Co., which operates the lab, said the limits are unnecessary and that increased testing would cost $3 million over the next five years. ``It's never been found in five years,'' Steve Lafflam, Boeing division director of Safety, Health and Environmental Affairs said of the TCE concerns. ``It doesn't make good sense if you have to go looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. something you've never found.'' Water board members asked for a legal opinion on whether they have the authority to mandate stricter standards. ``We can agree it is a unique site with a unique history,'' board chairwoman Francine Diamond said. ``Why is it that best professional judgment does not take over in this very unique situation?'' Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com |
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