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Both the City of Irvine and the Irvine Company knew of the hidden and concealed All American Asphalt (AAA) facility for decades and imprudently, perhaps recklessly, decided to build communities adjacent to the plant while failing to properly inform the public. The city approved and continues to approve the development of communities to within approximately 0.5 miles of the AAA plant without exercising due diligence, including a comprehensive review of the impact the emissions would have on the health and quality of life of present and future residents. The City of Irvine and South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) have refused to take any meaningful action for more than two years while dismissing hundreds of complaints and discounting resident concerns about potential health hazards from the toxic and carcinogenic asphalt emissions, including the recent revelation of concerning elevated exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) within the impacted communities. We must address the accountability and liability of those who permitted the construction of homes and schools in such close proximity to an existing asphalt plant under suspect approval processes, of those who sold homes to unsuspecting buyers without full disclosure, and of those who refuse to protect the public.

This potential health crisis is reminiscent of the nascent stages of the Flint, Michigan water crisis, in which residents brought to the attention of city officials the foul-smelling, discolored, and unpalatable water. Physicians and academic researchers independently detected elevated levels of lead in the water and in the children. A concurrent Legionnaire's outbreak resulting in several deaths was precipitated by this water crisis, which was propagated by the City's mismanagement, including the ignoring, overlooking, discounting, and dismissing of public complaints and concerns by city officials, state officials, and environmental regulatory agencies, all of which have led to criminal charges and civil liability. Unfortunately, the outcome was a grave health crisis for an entire community, including an entire generation of children.

The AAA asphalt plant is a public nuisance and, more importantly, a potential health hazard for several nearby communities, including thousands of households, several schools and numerous parks. We have been and continue to be inundated by strong asphalt fumes and other chemical odors. These overwhelming, noxious asphalt and chemical odors awaken us at night, flood our homes and blanket our neighborhoods.

The City of Irvine and the Irvine Company are ultimately culpable for allowing the development of communities close to an existing plant without exercising due diligence and failing to properly inform the public of this hidden and concealed facility which is within an area demarcated as a Preservation/Open Space. In fact, the city did not have this facility on any of its maps until after a recent city council meeting in October 2020 when the city council made the amendment after public pressure.

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