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Committee asks for comprehensive review of Rancho LPG safety after public concern over aging tanks
Summary
Public commenters and committee members pressed for a fuller risk assessment and historical review of the Rancho LPG facility in San Pedro after recent fires raised public concern, and the Los Angeles Fire Department briefed the Public Safety Committee on the regulatory framework, inspection cadence and enforcement avenues during the March 5 meeting.
Public commenters and committee members pressed for a fuller risk assessment and historical review of the Rancho LPG facility in San Pedro after recent fires raised public concern, and the Los Angeles Fire Department briefed the Public Safety Committee on the regulatory framework, inspection cadence and enforcement avenues during the March 5 meeting.
Janet Gunter, a member of the public, told the committee that “this facility is the most ripe opportunity for disaster,” saying the Rancho LPG site dates to 1973 and warning of catastrophic vaporization risks in a serious incident. Noel Weiss, a public commenter, urged the council to obtain an LAFD report “saying, this is what it's gonna cost to man every week, every month at a minimum,” and asked that the Port or operator pay for mitigation staffing while broader issues are addressed.
Captain Cody Weiruder of the Los Angeles Fire Department CUPA section introduced the LAFD presentation and said the department enforces hazardous materials programs as California’s certified unified program agency for the city. LAFD hazardous-materials supervisor Minh Le told the committee that CUPA and the hazardous-materials business-plan (HMBP) inspections are scheduled every three years, with a CalARP (California Accidental Release Prevention) compliance audit every 18 months and district Fire Prevention Bureau inspections on an annual basis. “The frequency of inspection for the CalARP program is every 3 years,” Le said, and added the district inspector completes inspections annually.
LAFD staff said Rancho LPG is regulated under CalARP, the HMBP program and the Los Angeles Fire Code, and that those units coordinate enforcement and inspections. In response to committee questions about historical violations, LAFD said its files show no recorded violations in the last five years in the documents the department brought to the meeting, though the department also said it found and corrected a recent paperwork-related Class 2 violation during its last inspection.
Committee members repeatedly asked whether Rancho LPG is legally nonconforming because it predates modern codes (the facility opened in the 1970s) or whether it complies with current 2025 standards; LAFD said it enforces state and local regulatory programs and that it had not identified egregious noncompliance under those enforcement frameworks but that additional interdepartmental research and review would be required to answer land-use and general-plan questions. Council member McOsker asked the department to return with a comprehensive follow-up addressing the facility’s inspection history, any escalated enforcement actions, whether comparable facilities exist in the jurisdiction, proximity to schools and residences, and whether the City’s safety/hazard mitigation planning accounts for the site.
The committee voted to keep the matter in committee and requested a thorough report back; the clerk recorded the motion as approved by the members present. Committee members noted the public safety concerns raised during public comment and asked LAFD and other city planning units to analyze risk mitigation options and whether additional legislative or staffing actions are warranted.
