Environmental Coalition Escalates Legal Battle Against Los Angeles’s “Hydrogen-Ready” Power Plant Retrofit

LOS ANGELES — A growing coalition of environmental justice and climate advocacy groups has officially joined an ongoing lawsuit challenging the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) over plans to extend the operational life of the Scattergood Generating Station.

The legal action, which gained significant momentum this week, alleges that the city failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when it approved a contentious project to retrofit the aging facility to burn a mixture of methane gas and hydrogen.

A Controversial “Green” Pivot

First proposed in 2022, the LADWP project aims to modify the Scattergood plant—situated in an area already burdened by industrial pollution near Inglewood, Hawthorne, and Lennox—to accommodate hydrogen fuel. While city officials have framed the initiative as a step toward decarbonization, critics argue that the project is a “greenwashed” attempt to lock the city into fossil fuel dependency for decades to come.

Despite intense public outcry regarding the safety of hydrogen infrastructure, the massive water requirements for hydrogen production, and the continued combustion of methane, the LADWP Board of Commissioners certified an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the project in 2025. Following an unsuccessful appeal to the Los Angeles City Council on August 4, 2026, environmental groups are now moving to invalidate the project through the courts.

United in Opposition

Food & Water Watch, Physicians for Social Responsibility—Los Angeles (PSR-LA), and the Sierra Club have formally joined an existing lawsuit originally filed by Communities for a Better Environment and Los Angeles Waterkeeper. The Center for Biological Diversity has also initiated separate litigation against the utility.

Legal representatives for the coalition argue that the city’s reliance on “hydrogen-ready” technology is a flawed strategy that undermines Los Angeles’s official target to achieve a 100% carbon-free power grid by 2035.

“LADWP’s Scattergood boondoggle is a dark chapter for the City’s environmental leadership,” said Theo Caretto, Staff Attorney at Communities for a Better Environment. “The City’s Environmental Impact Report turns a blind eye to public safety, air pollution, and water impacts… this project will be nothing more than a brand-new fossil fuel plant constructed five years before LA is supposed to be carbon-free.”

Health and Climate Concerns

For local advocates, the fight is as much about public health as it is about climate policy. Alex Jasset, Director of Energy Justice at PSR-LA, highlighted the lack of transparency in the utility’s planning.

“Without an honest assessment of the project and the limitations of the hydrogen market, LADWP is locking the city into a future that continues to rely on methane combustion,” Jasset noted.

The coalition contends that the current EIR is “riddled with flaws” intended to justify a massive investment in fossil fuel infrastructure rather than prioritizing truly clean, renewable alternatives like wind, solar, and battery storage. By joining the lawsuit, these organizations hope to force a more rigorous environmental review that accounts for the true long-term costs of the retrofit.

As the litigation stay expires this September, the case serves as a high-stakes test of Los Angeles’s commitment to its climate goals. For now, the city remains at a crossroads, with clean energy advocates pressing for a total shift away from combustion-based power generation.