One of Los Angeles County’s largest landfills will no longer accept shipments of solid waste in the new year in the wake of increased county scrutiny of air pollution from the site in Castaic and a lawsuit over the facility’s impacts on neighbors’ health.
The decision has prompted concern from local officials that the closure could lead to higher costs and increased uncertainty surrounding trash collection for residents and businesses in the region.
The Chiquita Canyon Landfill announced on Dec. 31 that it will close its doors to new waste shipments. But the landfill owners also said they would continue to work with government officials on efforts to address foul odors emanating from the 639-acre site.
“Chiquita Canyon LLC will continue to manage the landfill, including addressing the elevated temperature landfill event that is affecting the northwest corner of the landfill, as well as closure and post-closure activities,” the company said in its statement. “While active waste disposal operations will close, we remain committed to working with federal, state and local regulators on the ongoing reaction mitigation efforts.”
The closure announcement comes only two weeks after the county filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against the landfill and its parent company, Waste Connections U.S. Inc., alleging that the landfill has become a public nuisance due to an increase of landfill gas temperatures and subsoil temperatures, leading to noxious odors from hydrogen sulfide and dimethyl sulfide emissions.
“For almost two years, a smoldering, smelly, chemical brew has been festering underground at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill … in Castaic … releasing noxious odors into the air and severely impacting the quiet enjoyment of neighboring homes and businesses,” the lawsuit filed in the Central District of California on Dec. 16 states.
In turn, residents of the Val Verde residential community and other areas near the landfill have reported health issues such as headaches, nausea, breathing difficulties, irritations of the nose, eyes and throat, and cardiac issues, according to the complaint.
Government agencies have responded to residents’ concerns by issuing abatement orders and violation notices, but the landfill owner has allowed the problems to persist, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit calls on the court to order the company to stop noxious emissions from reaching the surrounding community, to relocate nearby residents until the problem ends, to put in place new remediation measures and to impose monetary penalties on the owner.
It is unclear how the company’s closure plans will affect the litigation, but the county supervisor who represents area residents, Kathryn Barger, has drawn up a motion for discussion at the Jan. 7 Board of Supervisors meeting. It urges county officials to examine the effects of closing the landfill, which is the second largest in Los Angeles County.
“The impending closure of Chiquita Canyon represents a critical juncture in the region’s environmental, economic and social landscape,” Barger’s motion states. “Its closure could profoundly alter waste-management policies, disposal of solid waste in the county, and potential impacts to customers and ratepayers whose waste was previously taken to Chiquita Canyon.”
The landfill’s closing could require waste hauling to more remote sites, affecting rates that residents pay for the service, according to Barger.
“The closure of Chiquita Canyon could potentially create significant financial impacts to local jurisdictions and ultimately ratepayers and residents who contract for these services,” her motion says.
Barger is urging the board to call on the public works director, county counsel and Department of Consumer and Business Affairs to draw up a proposal in 30 days to deal with the potential of price gouging and anticompetitive practices in the wake of the closure.
Neither Chiquita Canyon LLC nor Barger’s office responded to requests for comment.