Supervisors Postpone Action on Permit for Landfill

After listening to more than three hours of withering criticism from local residents opposed to the expansion of Chiquita Canyon Landfill, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday delayed action on granting Laidlaw Waste Systems Inc. a permit to operate the dump for 10 more years.

Laidlaw is seeking the board’s approval to accept 5,000 tons of trash each day at Chiquita Canyon and to increase the capacity of the Santa Clarita Valley landfill to 18.2 million tons.

But on Tuesday, the board heard 18 speakers criticize Laidlaw for the way it currently operates the dump. The critics accused the company of polluting the air and the ground water and of seeking to impose an expanded dump on the largely poor and predominantly minority community of nearby Val Verde.

“We are low-income minorities of Latino and African American descent and we feel like we have been environmentally discriminated against,” said Jose Luis Vega, president of the Val Verde-based Lucha Ambiental de la Comunidad Hispana. “We need more studies regarding the [level of] contamination to ensure the safety of our community.”

Laidlaw representatives, however, told the board that the company had already paid for numerous tests and studies of air and water quality, and that the dump expansion would not risk the health of residents.

“We cannot please everyone,” said Charles Leonard, a senior vice president of the company. “This project meets or exceeds all requirements. Quite honestly, we believe we’ve been stretched to the limit with all the conditions, mitigation measures and financial considerations.”

The company had originally sought to expand the landfill’s capacity to 29.5 million tons and to accept 10,000 tons of garbage daily. But last year, the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission approved the smaller expansion plan that the board is now considering.

Lynn Harris, a deputy mayor of nearby Santa Clarita--where 80% of the trash arriving at the dump would originate--said the city was unsatisfied with health and safety precautions.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who represents the area, asked Laidlaw representatives to continue negotiating with opponents before the board takes up the issue again Feb. 25.