Reyes aims at waste facilities
Assembly member from Fresno introduces bill to crack down on the sites and to prevent more fires.
As Fresno's junk-pile fire smolders into its fourth week, Assembly Member Sarah Reyes introduced a bill designed to tighten laws governing solid waste facilities, snare operators who violate regulations and attempt to prevent similar blazes from occurring elsewhere in the state.
Reyes, D-Fresno, announced Assembly Bill 240, at a news conference Friday at a site next to Archie Crippen Excavation, where the fire started by spontaneous combustion Jan. 11 in a two-story pile of debris across 4.8 acres.
Also Friday, Reyes and City Council Member Cynthia Sterling, whose district includes the Crippen yard and its surrounding neighborhoods, said a free health screening will be conducted today at Addams Elementary School. Doctors and other health professionals will provide the checkups.
Though the Crippen yard is near Nielsen and Marks avenues in southwest Fresno, the smoke from the fire has wafted throughout the area, triggering health problems citywide.
"This fire has taken its toll on our city as well as our district," Sterling said.
Reyes said state law requires that large waste processors must have permits, but that doesn't include facilities that take in construction and demolition materials. In addition, Reyes said the Crippen yard was supposed to take in 40 tons or less a day: "He took in a lot more than 40 tons."
AB 240 would require state permits for construction and demolition processing plants.
"There are many other sites like this in the state of California that can turn into something just like this fire if we don't do something about it," Reyes said.
"There would be no facility like this that would not be regulated or inspected in the state."
Today marks Day 22 of the fire. Friday, a spokeswoman for the federal Environmental Protection Agency said crews continue to battle the blaze but could not estimate when the fire would be extinguished. Dense fog slowed progress, preventing firefighters from attacking the pile until full visibility could ensure safe working conditions.
"We continue fighting the fire as aggressively as possible," spokeswoman Lisa Fasano said. "Our goal is to get it out as soon as we can."
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District continued warnings Friday about unhealthful air. It urged people not to use their fireplaces and to avoid or limit strenuous outdoor activity. The caution was issued Friday through 4 p.m. today
Sterling said that next week she would announce additional members to a city task force that will investigate the fire. Harlan Kelly Sr., a southwest Fresno resident who complained for years about the Crippen yard, has been named as a member.
The group will examine the city's conditional-use permit process and the impact of waste and recycling centers in southwest Fresno. The Crippen operation's permit covered only road debris, asphalt and concrete. But after the fire broke out, officials discovered other material, such as mattresses, wood, metal, plastics and auto parts.
Sterling said a report should be prepared by March 25.
The reporter can be reached at fmatlosz@fresnobee.com or 441-6428.
HOW TO
GET HELP
People who believe their health has been affected by the southwest Fresno fire can attend a free medical screening from 10 a.m. to noon today at Addams Elementary School, 2117 W. McKinley Ave., just west of Freeway 99.
ON THE WEB
Visit www.
valleyairquality
.com to read
The Bee's
special report,
"Last Gasp."
- © Copyright 2008 The Fresno Bee
- Help
- Your Privacy
- User Agreement
- Child Protection
