We, the undersigned, stand united as community members of LA County and from the cities of Duarte, Irwindale, Azusa, and Baldwin Park, who are deeply concerned with the lack of transparency from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

On January 7, 2025, the "Eaton Fire" burned thousands of acres and structures in Altadena. The EPA and Army Corps of Engineers independently selected Lario Park as a hazardous waste processing staging area for the removal of harmful materials after the devastating wildfire.

Lario Park is located within a watershed area that provides water to our communities. Significant Ecological Areas (SEA) are the most biodiverse areas of the LA County, and Lario Park is within a region designated as an SEA. Few areas hold this designation. 

The county and EPA failed to follow all due process:

1. The county and EPA failed to provide advance notice to Duarte's city's governance and community members, as well as the impacted cities regarding the hazardous waste staging area
2. The EPA failed to provide Duarte and impacted cities with any information regarding why Lario Park was selected for the hazardous waste staging area, the specific truck route that will be used from the Eaton Fire to Lario Park, and how long the site will be in operation.
3. The county and EPA failed to forewarn the impacted communities and its residents of the short-term and long-term environmental and health risks and effects on residents and our environment.
4. The county and EPA failed to inform us about the potential hazardous risks and how to implement precautious and preventative protocol to minimize exposure, thus decrease short-term and long-term adverse effects on community members and the environment.

The EPA, tasked with ensuring the safety of our environment, has been alarmingly opaque about their process and the potential risks we face.

Wildfires have serious consequences. They release harmful substances like heavy metals and volatile organic compounds into the environment (source: California Air Resources Board). When not properly managed, these materials pose significant health risks to the public. Hence, complete transparency from the county and EPA, is paramount.

We demand the EPA to take immediate action to rectify its lack of openness by completing the following standards:

1. Conduct, release, and readily make accessible a detailed written report outlining the hazardous materials in question, describing the complete analyses and research/test findings, and the interpretation of the results to the impacted communities and residents.
2. Inform the cities' governance and community members of the potential public health and environmental implications, and the methods employed and the evidence to ensure safe removal and disposal.
3. Provide an accessible, written report of how EPA followed  governance due process and ethical and legal safety protocol to ensure avoidance of federal governance oversight and to ensure all safety and protocol measures were taken to ensure the public's utmost safety.

It's time for our voices to be heard. Stand with us in demanding transparency from the EPA. These are our communities, our health, and our lives at stake.

Please sign this petition to support our cause.