Recommendations

The report, in its conclusion, called the incident a “near miss,” occurring during the dry season, when debris flow is relatively low, as opposed to the more troublesome rainy season.

The incident should be viewed as a warning, the report said, as it put the public at risk of losing electric power and drinking water.

The report also advised sanitation officials to redouble public education efforts to keep debris out of the sewer system.

It made four main recommendations on how to respond to such crises in the future:

• 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.

• The standard operating procedures need to be updated to not rely on one person or technology notification system.

•The agencies need to come together in the next four weeks to quickly establish an inter-agency operating procedure for major plant emergencies.

• County departments need to fully implement the incident command system.

In the weeks following the spill, repairs at the facility have resulted in especially foul smells emanating into nearby neighborhoods. ElSegundo City Hall has been getting flooded with calls from confused residents after Los Angeles expanded which local residents are eligible for compensation.

Martha GuzmanHurtado, the city’s communications and legislative affairs manager, said she has fielded about 50 calls and about two dozen emails from residents who didn’t understand LA’s process. The LA Sanitation & Environment released more information on the reimbursement program on Tuesday, including extending the application deadline to Aug. 5.

Guzman-Hurtado said the smell depends on location and wind direction.

“There are days when I don’t smell it at all. But last night was the first time I had a hard time sleeping because the odor was pungent,” GuzmanHurtado said. “There’s times when it’s pretty unbearable. It’s concerning.”

Citygate Associates said it will present another report to county supervisors in 30 days, and Los Angeles officials plan to address residents’ concerns at the Aug. 17 City Council meeting.