Nearly all of California’s 35 air pollution control districts respond to air quality complaints at homes and often send an inspector onto the property or into a house to verify the problem.
But the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District is one of three that will not allow inspectors, even those invited by the homeowner, to set foot onto residential property — whether to do something such as enter private land to check on accumulating dust, go into a backyard to watch a neighbor burn toxic fumes or check to ensure asbestos is removed safely.
Eighteen California districts allow inspectors to go into private homes, and 14 only let staff go onto the property’s land or backyard.
Three districts — Ventura County, San Joaquin Valley Unified and Antelope Valley — have policies barring inspectors from going onto residential property.
Ventura County is among few in another respect: the Ventura County, Bay Area and South Coast districts regulate single-family homes for removal of asbestos, a fibrous material that was widely used in building materials and has been linked to lung cancer.
But the Bay Area and South Coast districts let inspectors enter homes for inspections, such as asbestos notifications.
Ventura County Air Pollution Control Officer Michael Villegas, who manages the district, said the policy to forbid residential property inspections was not approved by the local Air Pollution Control Board, which consists of the five county supervisors and five city officials. The board is tasked with establishing policy and approving rules.
An internal policy memo sent to inspectors in February 2011 says they “should go no further onto or into a property than the front porch or driveway,” but Compliance Division Manager Dan Searcy said the policy has been in place since at least 2002.
Searcy said the rule was established for safety reasons, even though no particular incident prompted the memo.
INSPECTOR SAFETY
Searcy said he saw “some weird things” during his 22 years as an inspector, including intoxicated people, pit bulls and a situation in which “the person clearly has a lot of mental problems.”
“Things can get really strange, and they can get crazy,” he said. “We’re not armed. ... We don’t carry mace; we don’t have clubs; we don’t have any vests on. ... I can’t ask any of my inspectors to do anything that would put them in danger. ... Most of the time it’s not going to be a problem, but you never know.”
The Ventura County district has the equivalent of seven full-time inspectors to complete annual inspections of more than 1,400 permitted facilities, 300 retail gas stations and 300 agricultural engines, among answering hundreds of complaints.
Inspectors with the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District respond to complaints at homes and go into residences, possibly to refer the issue to another agency, said Compliance Division Manager Craig Strommen.
Strommen said feeling unsafe during a residential inspection is “not uncommon.”
“We’ve had guns drawn on us before or people threatening and yelling at us,” he said. “If there’s any threat of bodily damage, we’ll only go with a police escort. If there’s any inclination of guns or unsafe access, we back off.”
Strommen said problems are rare and that it “doesn’t make any sense” to have a policy preventing inspectors from going to homes.
“The citizenry deserves the ability to complain about air pollution sources and have an agency that is working on their behalf to eliminate their air pollution sources,” Strommen said. “That’s what we do.”
NO APPROVAL
The Ventura County air pollution board “establishes policy and approves new rules,” according to the district website. But Villegas, who is appointed by the board, said that is a “general statement.”
“The board has to put some trust in the management team to operate the district,” Villegas said. “If we had to run every policy by the board ... we wouldn’t get anything done.”
Villegas said “the day-to-day minutiae of running the agency belongs to the management team” and that the district frequently creates rules without board approval.
David Clegern, a spokesman for the California Air Resources Board, which monitors the state’s 35 local air districts, said “an internal policy in place for employee safety” would not be required to go to the district’s governing board for approval.
Carmen Ramirez, chairwoman of the local air pollution board and an Oxnard City Council member, said the “long-standing policy that the district does not go in and investigate homes or problems with homes” has not been an issue while she has been on the board.
“We have a limited staff,” she said. “We have a lot of permits out there that we have to do for the public interest, and getting involved with people’s homes is a little beyond that.”
Ramirez said she was unaware that more than 90 percent of air pollution control districts respond to residential air quality complaints.
“This thing has not been brought to my attention,” she said, adding that she would “talk to staff about their staffing ability” and “consider whether it’s something we should take a look at in terms of change.”
The 10-member board meets with district staff members every other month. The next meeting will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the County Government Center in Ventura.
ASBESTOS
Most air pollution control districts follow federal asbestos removal regulations that require notifications for demolition and renovation projects of buildings that are commercial, industrial or residential and have more than four dwellings.
But three districts, including Ventura County, go beyond federal standards and regulate asbestos removal in single-family homes.
Although the district requires homeowners or occupants to tell it if a contractor is completing a renovation or demolition project involving asbestos, inspectors will never visit the site if an issue arises.
Officials with the city of Ventura’s Building and Safety Department found it “disturbing” to learn of this policy in the case of a Ventura couple who had a contractor leave behind asbestos and debris after removing an old furnace.
After Ventura city inspector Tim Dunn assessed the home and saw evidence of asbestos, he contacted the Air Pollution Control District. He said the solution he received was for the homeowners to call a licensed asbestos abatement contractor and pursue a case against the original contractor in small claims court.
“We were very concerned about that because throughout all these years, we have been sending people there under the impression that they would take care of any inspections on asbestos or to fine contractors that are not certified in this work,” Dunn said.
Villegas said he understood people were confused because the website says “asbestos renovation and demolition projects are reviewed and inspected by district inspectors.”
The Bay Area and South Coast districts have fees associated with the required asbestos removal notifications that are “quite expensive” and “not popular” but help fund inspection programs,” said Jay Nicholas, a Ventura County air quality inspector.
But to Searcy, the potential danger is enough to forbid residential inspections.
“It isn’t worth it for somebody to get hurt. It isn’t,” he said. “I go home to my wife and kids every day, and I’d like them to go home to their wife and kids, too.”
Asked whether the district is concerned about residents who fear they have asbestos or other air quality issues, Searcy paused and said, “That’s a problem.”