Assistant County Executive Matt Carroll told supervisors he hoped a more detailed report on the Santa Clara Waste Water Co. incident would be presented at the December 9 meeting.
More than 1,000 gallons of still unknown chemicals spilled and burned after the rear of a vacuum truck that exploded at the plant, 815 Mission Rock Road. The initial blast occurred at 3:45 a.m. and was reported as a non-hazardous sewage spill.
Santa Paula Fire was first on the scene to treat two injured - one critically - in the explosion, and soon three SPFD firefighters themselves were treated - and remain under treatment - for symptoms associated with chemical exposure.
In all, more than 50 people sought treatment.
At about 8:30 a.m. a vapor cloud ignited setting off several other explosions and larger fires that according to the declaration created a “three mile plume of toxic smoke.”
A one-mile area was evacuated and a half-mile lockdown remained until the following Saturday.
When dried, the unknown substance crystallizes and spontaneously ignites; Friday a flash fire occurred when sampling personnel bumped into a wheelbarrow. The incident caused regrouping on how to tackle the toxic spill at the 5-acre property.
Although cost for the damage and response have not been determined, Chris Stephens, director of the Ventura County Resource Management Agency said it would likely range be millions of dollars.
The proclamation of local emergency authored by Sheriff Geoff Dean allows county officials to begin possibly recouping the costs of damage and the expenses for fire, police and other responding agencies.
County Fire Chief Mark Lorenzen told supervisors that a half-million-dollar engine is likely a total loss and remains at the scene, “sitting in toxic goo... “
Santa Paula Fire Chief Rick Araiza said although the responding SPFD engine was stripped of anything soft and/or porous for decontamination and removed from the scene 10 days after the initial explosion, it still might be a loss.
A series of officials from various departments addressed the board on numerous aspects of the incident including run-off and attempts to keep the cement lined chemical retention basin contained and away from the nearby Santa Clara River, the progress of sampling and possible impacts to surrounding agriculture.
Newly elected Santa Paula Council members John Procter and Ginger Gherardi attended and the latter questioned the board on possible groundwater impacts.
Rick Bandelin, a hazardous materials manager in the county Division of Environmental Health, assured the board that the sandbags and berms were constructed in advance of the rainstorm that started the morning of the hearing.
Supervisor Linda Parks noted that such facilities are, “Tremendous public safety hazards when things go wrong,” and Supervisor John Zaragoza said he was “Very, very concerned,” about the situation.
Zaragoza represents Oxnard where SCWW waste is piped to the city’s wastewater treatment plant; the company was shut off last week by Oxnard due to radioactive waste found in samples.
Zaragoza insisted on an immediate stop to the trucks now carrying waste from SCWW to Oxnard and was told Anterra is only accepting oil industry byproducts (fracking liquids) and not other waste processed by SCWW.
Los Angeles Fire and Naval Base Ventura Hazardous Material teams, the Coast Guard, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, among others, are monitoring the scene.
Nils Castillo, owner of Castillo Motorsports next to SCWW attended the hour-long hearing about the facility he had complained to the county for more than year due to noise, fumes and particularly heavy truck traffic after hours when the facility is supposed to be closed except for emergencies,
“It sounds like this is being taken seriously,” said Castillo, but, “We’ll see... “
