The All American Asphalt facility, which is located in North Irvine near Orchard Hills, has been the subject of numerous community complaints, as residents continue to express fear and frustration over noxious odors emitting from the plant. Now, since January 1, the plant has received three violations regarding foul odor.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District cited All American Asphalt on January 13, January 14, and again on January 24. Since 2019, All American Asphalt has been issued violations on 10 different occasions based on AQMD’s compliance and enforcement category within the All American Asphalt facility’s portion of the website.

On all three occasions, AQMD cited that odors emitting from All American Asphalt were a “considerable public nuisance.” The violations are under the CH&SC code, which is listed as the California Health and Safety Code.

In a copy of each violation notice, the responding AQMD investigator wrote:

“Discharging such quantities of air contaminants which cause nuisance to a considerable number of persons or to the public.”

In terms of complaints, AQMD requires six different reports within 24-hours and from alternative households for the department to send an investigator to the reported odor incidents.

Kim Konte, a north Irvine resident and founder of Non-Toxic Neighborhoods, said an overwhelming number of complaints resulted in the most recent string of violations. Konte, who has been outspoken about this issue for years, said while the neighborhood is no stranger to foul odor, the frequency at which the odors occur has recently increased.

“We have had three [odor violations] within 11 days,” Konte said during a phone call with Irvine Weekly. “There’s been a huge uptick of complaints because something has drastically changed at the plant. We had a really positive call with the California Air Resources Board yesterday, who are bringing the EPA into this.”

Another point of concern for Konte is the AAA facility’s lack of a Title V categorization, which is based on the annual amount of volatile organic compounds released. Facilities that produce 10 tons of VOCs annually are subject to Title V categorization. In Irvine, Braun Medical and UC Irvine are listed as Title V facilities.

In the submitted self-reports from All American Asphalt, both the 2018 and 2019 levels of VOCs exceeded 10 tons, however, the Irvine-based facility was never listed as a Title V facility by its regulator agency, AQMD. Konte said it could result in a violation of federal law.

“The EPA looked under the covers at AQMD’s failure to get All American Asphalt complaint with the Hot Spots Program, as well as the clear air act – so that’s a federal program that All American Asphalt should have been listed as back in 2019, based on their emission in 2018,” she said. “They’re still not compliant.”

Still, the aspect of what can be done to quell the fears of residents remains unknown, as residents fear that their frustrations are not being addressed. Meanwhile, residents continue to reiterate their fears regarding the levels of Volatile Organic Compounds, like benzene, formaldehyde and other known carcinogens that are associated with the facility’s emissions, which AQMD continues to emphasize are not a threat to public health.

In terms of resources, the city of Irvine has created an odor complaint form on its website, but it is unclear if that is directed to AQMD.

In December, Senator Dave Min said the asphalt plant is the city’s issue. However, aside from regulating truck routes and truck coverings, the city has not taken official steps to stop operation at the facility at this point.

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