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OCEAN VIEW SCHOOL DISTRICT
17200 Pinehurst Lane, Huntington Beach, CA 92647-5569
Contact Information:
Julie Jennings
Public Information As- sistant 714.847.2551 ext. 1313
jjennings@ovsd.org
Press Release
Oak View Elementary Students in Huntington Beach Continue to Suffer
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA, September 14, 2015 – The Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA), which is under the supervision and control of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and serves as the Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) for CalRecycle in Sacramento, over- ruled its appointed hearing officer, Craig Alexander, and will allow Rainbow — a large waste management company — to continue to operate, without addressing specific conditions of approval: its 4,000 ton per day trash dump located next to Oak View Elementary School in Huntington Beach.
In January, the Ocean View School District appealed OCHCA’s decision to renew a five-year operating permit to Rainbow. As a result, the County appointed Alexander to investigate OCHCA’s approval process and ruled in favor of the District, specifically stating that OCHCA had “abused its discretion” by not conducting a good faith investigation of the District’s complaints before extending the permit for another five years.
Without a public hearing, without an inspection of the school, and without interviewing any of the students, teachers, or community residents who have complained about the odor, dust, noise, and seagull problems caused by the Rainbow trash dump, CalRecycle Director Scott Smithline reversed the order issued by Alexander.
According to Gina Clayton-Tarvin, President of the OVSD Board of Trustees, “CalRecycle, the County, and Supervisor Steel should be ashamed of themselves for turning a blind eye to the children who are being forced to endure the stench of this garbage dump. As far as we know, it is the only garbage dump in the entire state of California that is allowed to operate right next door to an elementary school.”
Clayton-Tarvin continued, “Fortunately, CalRecycle and the County will not have the final say about whether a garbage dump is more important than a clean learning environment for our children, and I look forward to having that issue decided in court.”
Smithline’s ruling stands in stark contrast to the actions of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which two days prior to Smithline’s decision had issued two Notices of Violation (NOV) to Rainbow for creating a public nuisance by allowing odors to emanate from its facility. These recent NOVs mark the eighth and ninth times in the past two years that the SCAQMD has cited Rainbow for violating state air quality rules.
CalRecycle has overlooked the NOVs issued by the SCAQMD and continues to support the Rainbow facility operation and claim it is not creating public nuisance conditions.
For more information, please call the Ocean View School District Office at (714) 847-2551, ext. 1309.