The Environmental Protection Agency is establishing a household hazardous waste staging site at Will Rogers State Beach, just days after representatives said the site had been proposed for such a use, but rejected.
The cleanup site at Will Rogers will be the second household hazardous waste staging site used for debris from the Palisades fire, California State Parks announced on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
It was unclear what led to the initial rejection of the beach as a staging site or what shifted to lead to the approval of the beach as an EPA site.
The first was established near Topanga Creek on the state park owned land that formerly housed the Topanga Motel, which burned in the Palisades fire. This site drew controversy from Topanga residents, who voiced concerns that the location is too close to the ocean, a creek and lagoon and is on land with significance to Indigenous tribes, as well as the lack of community input as the site was chosen and established.
Staging is already underway at the Topanga site. Many Topanga residents asked EPA representatives why Will Rogers State Beach had not been chosen as a staging site at a protest near the Topanga site on Friday, Jan. 31, given the beach’s proximity to the highly devastated Palisades neighborhood.
This site is a step forward for the EPA’s work in the first of two phases of debris removal, where the agency is collecting household hazardous materials from burned homes, such as motor oil and batteries, and staging and separating the items before they are moved to long-term storage.
The city of Malibu rejected a proposal to establish a household hazardous waste staging site near Malibu City Hall at the Bell lot near Webb Way and Civic Center Way.
Alexis Brown, deputy city manager of Malibu, stated that the city would be working to support the EPA’s request to the state that Will Rogers be used as a staging site.
“The state has authorized the use of the parking lot at Will Rogers because it has enough space to safely stage household hazardous materials before transport, is flat, and is accessible to trucks used for transport,” the California State Parks’ statement read.
At a Malibu City Council special meeting on Monday, representatives from FEMA and the EPA indicated that the singular site near Topanga would not be large enough to process the debris from the thousands of structures destroyed in the Palisades fire. The new site at Will Rogers State Beach will add to the at least 20 acres of staging space authorities say is needed to complete this work.
“This necessary action helps speed up debris removal on properties destroyed by the wildfire and will enable residents to rebuild their homes faster,” the California State Parks’ statement said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.