The City of Irvine has voted to issue stricter regulations surrounding operations at the All American Asphalt facility in Orchard Hills. While the idea of creating a 24-hour city-based hotline dedicated to netting odor complaints was on the agenda, the council voted against the item’s $800,000 price tag.

The decision, made in a unanimous vote at the Irvine City Council Meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 10, comes after thousands of odor complaints filed over the years by Irvine residents with South Coast AQMD.

Now the city will work to implement new regulations for asphalt trucks, including truck coverings and checkpoints, aimed at reducing the use of heavy truck presence in residential areas and plans to add new disclosures framed around increasing transparency for potential homebuyers.

In lieu of the odor complaint hotline, the city of Irvine will create a web-based application designed to function as a way for residents to file odor reports directly with the city.

In a motion, Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan suggested that the city transition from the idea of a hotline, which would need to be operating 24-hours a day, to a web-based platform inside the Access Irvine application that would be a less-expensive alternative than a hotline.

“If we can create an icon on our Access Irvine App for residents to report incidents, I think that might be an easier option that doesn’t cost as much,” she said.

The idea of replacing the hotline with a platform in Inside Irvine did not sit well with Irvine City Council member Larry Agran.

“Maybe it’s because I’m not a techie and everything,” he said. “But I think we are leaving out a whole bunch of people.”

During the Nov. 10 meeting, Irvine City Attorney Jeff Melching explained that steps will also be taken to address AQMD’s requirements to conduct odor complaint investigations. Currently, it requires six different complaints of odor — from different parties — for AQMD to physically investigate a complaint and issue a notice of violation.

In a letter written to Senator Dave Min, Irvine emphasized the nuances of the odor events, adding that there were nearly 95 complaints reported to AQMD between October and September of 2021. None of which resulted in a violation.

“Between September 1, 2021 and October 20, 2021 SCAQMD received 93 complaints alleging AAA as the source of odors. SCAQMD inspectors responded to all of the complaints, but were not able to verify a sufficient number on any one day to establish a public nuisance. In fact, of the 93 complaints, there was only one where SCAQMD staff could confirm odors, but even in that instance they were unable to determine whether AAA (or any other site) was the source.”

“We’ve come up against a number of issues relating to AQMD’s authority to pursue a notice of violation for odors. AQMD has said it needs six verified complaints for a single incident in order to take any action and it’s proven difficult to get to that number,” Melching said. “It’s proven difficult to get to one.”

Melching cited issues that were “chronic and ongoing” as a means to amend the law in order to reduce the number of complaints for AQMD to take action.

Still, in addition to odors many say are making life in North Irvine unbearable, residents also say they fear that emissions from the All American Asphalt facility could contain harmful levels of known carcinogens.

While air sampling studies performed by the city and AQMD have indicated the presence of carcinogens, specifically Benzene and Formaldehyde, AQMD has continuously stated that the levels detected do not pose a risk to human health.

Others say more studies need to be done, but ultimately residents say the plant should be moved to another location.

To that end, in addition to stricter regulations and disclosures, Irvine is also asking for legislative assistance from Senator Dave Min. In an open letter to Min from the Irvine City Council for a nearly half dozen requests, including financial assistance to purchase the facility.

“The optimal solution for the north Irvine community would be to remove the AAA plant from its current location. That option will require a significant amount of money to purchase the current plant property and facilitate the identification of a new property for relocation of the plant. The State has enjoyed substantial budget surpluses, and we can think of few (if any) better expenditures of excess taxpayer funds than to improve the safety and enjoyment of those residents’ homes.”

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