During visit to South L.A., EPA head vows to address environmental injustices in Watts

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has pledged to work alongside Watts residents to address a host of environmental issues in the South Los Angeles community.

During a visit to the Jordan Downs public housing complex in Watts on Saturday morning, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the agency is working with state and federal partners to address elevated lead levels in the community’s drinking water and pollution from scrap metal recycler S&W Atlas Iron & Metal Co.

“For far too long, communities like Watts across the country have had to bear the brunt of environmental injustices — injustices like the unsafe operations from Atlas Metals, burdens like lead in drinking water right here at Jordan Downs,” Regan said.

More than a month after a team of Southern California researchers released the results of a study finding lead-tainted water in public housing developments in Watts, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has provided the city housing authority with more than 2,000 water sampling kits, according to Anselmo Collins, DWP’s senior assistant general manager in charge of the water system.

Results are trickling in, but early data from testing of kitchen faucets in public housing development Nickerson Gardens find 43 samples below five parts per billion and 27 samples with undetectable levels, according to data provided by the Housing Authority of the city of Los Angeles.

Testing of exterior hose bibs found more elevated lead levels, but after reviewing some results, the housing authority said there does not appear to be a correlation between the hose bibs and in-unit sinks.

No amount of lead in drinking water is safe, and children are especially vulnerable.

“No family should have to worry that the water coming out of their tap may be unsafe to drink,” Regan said. Once there are more complete results, he said, “we will better understand the extent of this issue and how we go about fixing it.”

Atlas is next to Jordan High School, where students and staff have long complained that school grounds have been coated in metallic dust and pelted with metal shrapnel. The EPA in March ordered the scrap yard to take action to prevent chemicals from washing into storm drains and drifting onto campus.

The company and its owners, Matthew Weisenberg and Gary Weisenberg, were charged last month in Los Angeles County Superior Court with 23 felonies related to disposal of hazardous waste and two misdemeanors related to failure to minimize the risk of explosion or fire. The defendants pleaded not guilty.

“We already know that Atlas Metals cannot be trusted to do the right thing. We’ve seen how they’ve handled their responsibilities, and it’s clear that they’re willing to put the Watts community at risk,” Regan said. “We’re going to use every tool in our toolbox to hold Atlas Metals accountable.”

If Atlas moves off its current property in the future, he said, the site could be eligible for the EPA’s Brownfields Program, which provides grants and technical assistance to communities to assess, clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties.

Andrew Anderson, 15, was among a dozen community members who joined Regan, Mayor Karen Bass and Councilmember Tim McOsker of the 15th District for a closed-door meeting at the Jordan Downs community center.

Anderson, a freshman at Jordan High, said he told Regan that many of his classmates have “trust issues” when it comes to the safety of their drinking water. He mostly drinks filtered water at home.

Anderson said he’s glad to have the officials’ backing as his community works to address these issues.

“We were able to feel like we were being heard,” he said.