Company drops effort to reopen waste plant near Santa Paula
The firm that proposed to reopen a waste treatment plant shuttered nine years ago by an explosion is backing out of the project because the property near Santa Paula is headed for a foreclosure sale.
RI-NU Services withdrew its application for a permit to operate the plant late last month because the foreclosure means the owner Santa Clara Waste Water Co., will lose the property, according to a letter that county planning officials received from RI-NU's CEO.
"Therefore, RI-NU will not have a property to operate a treatment facility on," said the letter from CEO Tim Koziol.
It's not clear when the foreclosure sale will be held. Ventura County had no records showing the sale had been scheduled, but Koziol said loans secured by two deeds of trust came due in May that the Santa Clara company was unable to pay. The company has been informed that the current holder of those two deeds of trust intends to proceed with foreclosure, he wrote.
In response to Koziol's letter, Ventura County Planning Director Dave Ward ordered all structures and materials to be removed from the plant site at 815 Mission Rock Road near Santa Paula. Santa Clara Waste Water has approximately seven months to get that done, according to Ward's letter.
RI-NU, which is based in Fontana, was seeking the county Board of Supervisors' permission to reinstate and modify the permit that Santa Clara Waste Water had in place before the explosion on Nov. 18, 2014. Any use of the property for a wastewater treatment plant will now require the approval of a new permit application, Ward said.
RI-NU's decision represents the latest wrinkle in years of efforts to reopen the plant. A chemical compound called sodium chlorite reacted with other chemicals after being sucked into a vacuum truck, causing the blast before dawn. The sodium chlorite on the ground dried and ignited in the explosion and was inhaled by those at the scene. Numerous first responders and employees were injured.
Many residents of Santa Paula were heavily opposed to the reopening.
Santa Paula Mayor Andy Sobel said Wednesday that he was pleased with RI-NU's decision to withdraw the application.
"We have this beautiful Santa Clara Valley....it just wasn't a good fit for our area," he said.
Staff Writer Wes Woods II contributed to this report.
Staff Writer Kathleen Wilson covers crime, courts and local government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0271.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Company drops effort to reopen waste plant near Santa Paula
