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US EPA joins investigation into Chiquita Canyon Landfill violations
Environment Dec 18, 2023
The Chiquita Canyon Landfill and surrounding areas. | Photo courtesy of LA County Development Authority
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has joined the investigation into what is causing a potentially dangerous leak and unusual smell from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill near Santa Clarita, and Supervisor Kathryn Barger said she welcomes the national attention.
The smell from the landfill has prompted a lawsuit and complaints from nearby residents in the communities of Castaic and Val Verde since July. Barger, the Los Angeles County supervisor who represents that 5th District, issued a statement Wednesday via Helen Chavez, her director of communications, and reported by the Signal following an advisory committee meeting saying the EPA is “bringing resources to the table for an incident that has gone on for far too long.”
The South Coast Air Quality Management District postponed a scheduled meeting on Tuesday to discuss the reported violations at the landfill. The meeting has been rescheduled for Jan. 9.
The meeting was supposed to address the allegations that the landfill operators knew about a leachate-seepage problem since April, but didn’t report it until the AQMD issued a notice to comply in October.
The AQMD has issued the Chiquita Canyon Landfill with more than 100 violation notices.
The leachate-seepage has expanded since August. Landfill workers reported in April the seepage at the collection facility had spread from the western border of the landfill to the northern border.
One of the announcements made at the advisory committee meeting was a call for testing the Santa Clara River for any potential contamination.
Attorneys for the AQMD told the Santa Clarita Valley Signal a miscommunication led to delays in the landfill operators sharing records ahead of the meeting.
A group of residents who live near the landfill filed a class-action lawsuit in August claiming the odor has become intense and potentially harmful.
Los Angeles County opened a grant program in October to reimburse residents who live near the landfill for high electrical bills. Residents were urged to keep their windows closed and run air conditioning because of the odor from the landfill.
