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After Lengthy Court Battle, Company Agrees To Stop Rendering Animal Parts in Southeast LA
Baker Commodities, Inc. in Vernon.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Following a nearly two-year court battle, a company in the city of Vernon has reached a settlement with air quality regulators and agreed to stop rendering raw animal parts.
As part of the agreement with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), Baker Commodities Inc. will pay the agency $400,000 and surrender its rendering permits within two weeks.
In recent years, Baker’s facility on Bandini Boulevard next to the L.A. River converted animal remains collected from meat processing plants, grocery stores, and butcher shops into pet food and other household items.
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Photographs taken by AQMD Inspector Dillon Harris during multiple inspections of Baker's rendering facility in Vernon in 2022. Baker later filed an emergency motion asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to restrain the AQMD from publishing the inspector's photos and to take them down from AQMD hearing board videos on YouTube. The judge denied it in October 2022.
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Dillon Harris
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Screen shots from YouTube video of Sept. 27, 2022 AQMD Commission meeting
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Photographs taken by AQMD Inspector Dillon Harris during multiple inspections of Baker's rendering facility in Vernon in 2022. Baker later filed an emergency motion asking a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to restrain the AQMD from publishing the inspector's photos and to take them down from AQMD hearing board videos on YouTube. The judge denied it in October 2022.
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Dillon Harris
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Screen shots from YouTube video of Sept. 27, 2022 AQMD Commission meeting
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Inspection photo labeled "Open air pit 8/16/22"
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AQMD via YouTube hearing video
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Photo labeled "Uncovered or leaking conveyers 8/16/22"
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AQMD via YouTube hearing video
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Baker was the focus of an LAist investigation into hazardous odors in Southeast L.A., which reported that AQMD cited the company’s Vernon facility for repeatedly violating a rule to mitigate odors.
An LAist review of public records found that Baker was the subject of more than 100 odor complaints to AQMD since 2019. The records show local residents and workers complained putrid odors made them feel nauseated and burned their eyes and throats.
On multiple occasions, Baker failed to store animal remains within four hours of delivery and left them out in the open air to fester, according to court filings submitted by the agency’s lawyers.
AQMD oversees local air emissions. In June 2022, the agency’s Hearing Board issued a shut down order to Baker for operating out of compliance.
How To Report Odors
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Have you noticed bad smells in your neighborhood?
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If you live within the South Coast Air Quality District’s boundaries (they cover most of L.A. County — you can look up details here), here’s where to file an odor report:
- Call 1-800-CUT-SMOG (1-800-288-7664)
- Visit AQMD’s online complaint system
- Download and use AQMD’s phone app
- Read our full guide for more tips.
Community members and elected officials celebrated the facility’s closure as a win.
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But, soon after, Baker responded with a lawsuit seeking $200 million from the agency. Baker, argued that it was not in violation of the odor mitigation rule and that it was treated unfairly. Baker also demanded that the shutdown order be tossed out and sought to bar air regulators from shutting it down in the future.
In a press release on Wednesday announcing the settlement, AQMD wrote that the violations settled included “failure to keep its facility clean and in good operating condition” and not properly sealing or closing “processing areas to minimize leaks and prevent odors from escaping.”
READ THE INVESTIGATION
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Explore the six-part series on hazardous odors.
- Investigation: Inside The Fight Over A Facility That Recycles Dead Animals In Southeast LA
- How and why we did it: The 2 Bus Rides That Spurred LAist’s Deep Dive Into Odor Issues In Vernon
- Compliance issues: LAist review finds companies violated sign rules
- The politics at play: A look back at Vernon's troubled history
- Resources: Smell Something Bad In Your Neighborhood? Here’s Where To Get Help
- Solutions: How decades of environmental woes have hurt, and mobilized, Southeast LA
AQMD will be reimbursed $35,000 for its attorney’s fees and Baker’s lawsuit will be dismissed, according to the statement.
In a statement, Jimmy Andreoli II, an assistant vice president at Baker, said the company is pleased to put past disputes with the agency behind it.
"Baker and our wonderful employees are longstanding, proud community members and we look forward to continuing to serve Southern California communities with vital services into the future."
About Baker Commodities
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Baker is one of roughly 200 rendering companies in the U.S. and is part of an industry that dates back to the 1800s and currently generates $10 billion annually.
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- Aside from its headquarters in Vernon, the company has more than a dozen locations across the U.S., including Las Vegas; Rochester, New York; and Kapolei, Hawaii.
- In addition to rendering animals, the Vernon facility has been used to process trap grease and wastewater. Trap grease comes from devices that capture fats, oil and grease in restaurant kitchens, to keep them from entering the sewer system.
- At its Vernon headquarters, according to court filings, Baker collects and treats 21 million gallons of grease trap water per year that it neutralizes before it enters the sewage system.
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Updated May 2, 2024 at 3:20 PM PDT
This story was updated with a statement from Baker Commodities, Inc.
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