ARTICLE
On July 13, 2021, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion requiring the Chief Executive Office (CEO) to investigate the emergency sewage release at the Hyperion Reclamation Plant (Plant) and report back to the Board within 7 days. The purpose of this report back was to identify the causation of the delayed response by County agencies and corrective action needed to ensure faster response, coordination, reporting and notification about future sewage discharges. Timely beach closures during sewage discharge events are critical to preventing public exposure to harmful bacteria. On behalf of the Board, the CEO retained Citygate Associates, LLC to conduct an expedited review of the incident, which included interviews with key personnel and response teams involved in the response. The initial report concluded that “the handling of this release and the necessary public notification were failures.” The report provides four groups of recommendations: (1) the notification process needs a tiered alert system to denote severity and must include active communication as opposed to the mere issuance of an email; (2) standard operating procedures need to be updated to prevent a single point of failure by one person or technology system; (3) the agencies need to come together in the next four weeks and quickly establish a new intra-agency standard operating procedure for major plant emergencies; and (4) County departments need to fully implement the Incident Command System. Additionally, the report recommended that a more detailed After-Action Report be completed and submitted to the Board. It is imperative that County agencies and the Plant learn from this “near miss” event and quickly act to establish more robust response and notification procedures. The Department of Public Health, as the lead agency for recreational water quality, must take the necessary steps to ensure timely public notification and closure of beaches resulting from emergency sewage discharges. I, THEREFORE MOVE that the Board of Supervisors direct the Office of Emergency Management and relevant County agencies to provide a verbal report on Item 79-B from the July 13, 2021 Board Meeting, detailing the causation of delayed response and notification and corrective action that is needed to ensure faster response, coordination, reporting and notification about future sewage discharges that may require timely beach closures to prevent public exposure to harmful bacteria. I, FURTHER MOVE that the Board of Supervisors directs the Chief Executive Office, in coordination with the County Fire Department, Department of Beaches and Harbors, Department of Public Health, and in consultation with Los Angeles City Sanitation and Environment, to publish a detailed After Action Report within 30 days. Click Here for Full Report
On July 13, 2021, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a motion requiring
the Chief Executive Office (CEO) to investigate the emergency sewage release at the
Hyperion Reclamation Plant (Plant) and report back to the Board within 7 days. The
purpose of this report back was to identify the causation of the delayed response by
County agencies and corrective action needed to ensure faster response, coordination,
reporting and notification about future sewage discharges. Timely beach closures during
sewage discharge events are critical to preventing public exposure to harmful bacteria.
On behalf of the Board, the CEO retained Citygate Associates, LLC to conduct an
expedited review of the incident, which included interviews with key personnel and
response teams involved in the response. The initial report concluded that “the handling
of this release and the necessary public notification were failures.” The report provides
four groups of recommendations: (1) the notification process needs a tiered alert system
to denote severity and must include active communication as opposed to the mere
issuance of an email; (2) standard operating procedures need to be updated to prevent a
single point of failure by one person or technology system; (3) the agencies need to come
together in the next four weeks and quickly establish a new intra-agency standard
operating procedure for major plant emergencies; and (4) County departments need to
fully implement the Incident Command System. Additionally, the report recommended
that a more detailed After-Action Report be completed and submitted to the Board.
It is imperative that County agencies and the Plant learn from this “near miss” event
and quickly act to establish more robust response and notification procedures. The
Department of Public Health, as the lead agency for recreational water quality, must take
the necessary steps to ensure timely public notification and closure of beaches resulting
from emergency sewage discharges.
I, THEREFORE MOVE that the Board of Supervisors direct the Office of
Emergency Management and relevant County agencies to provide a verbal report on Item
79-B from the July 13, 2021 Board Meeting, detailing the causation of delayed response
and notification and corrective action that is needed to ensure faster response,
coordination, reporting and notification about future sewage discharges that may require
timely beach closures to prevent public exposure to harmful bacteria.
I, FURTHER MOVE that the Board of Supervisors directs the Chief Executive
Office, in coordination with the County Fire Department, Department of Beaches and
Harbors, Department of Public Health, and in consultation with Los Angeles City
Sanitation and Environment, to publish a detailed After Action Report within 30 days. Click Here for Full Report