Lawmakers again request state of emergency for LA County landfill

Federal and state elected officials on Thursday repeated a request that Gov. Gavin Newsom declare a state of emergency in response to toxic pollution at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic.

Republican Rep. Mike Garcia and Democratic Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, both from Santa Clarita, jointly penned a letter signed by 15 additional State Assembly members that “outlines the urgent need” for an emergency declaration to protect the health and safety of people who live near the landfill.

“The environmental disaster at Chiquita Canyon has only worsened for residents in Val Verde, Castaic, and the Santa Clarita Valley,” Garcia said in a statement. “Innocent residents continue to face severe health problems and financial hardships because of this ongoing issue. It’s more urgent than ever: We need a State of Emergency.”

Garcia emphasized the bipartisan nature of the effort, which included two requests in March for the emergency declaration.

“I’m grateful to have Assemblywoman Schiavo as a partner committed to taking this fight directly to the Governor,” he said. “This joint letter proves that this issue transcends political boundaries — it’s about protecting the community and urging the state and county to do more for residents.”

Schiavo said she recently stayed overnight at the home of a family that lives near the landfill.

“Residents of Val Verde, Castaic, and students of nearby schools have been subjected to prolonged exposure to harmful emissions, leading to a range of health issues including headaches, nausea, asthma, heart palpitations, and a newly identified cancer cluster,” Schiavo said in a statement. “Last week, to get a full understanding of the impacts, I stayed overnight with a family in the area. On their street of 14 houses, seven neighbors have been fighting cancer — one has passed away. While I am grateful for the robust state, federal, and county response to the disaster on the landfill site, neighbors just a few yards away do not have the protections or relief they need to keep themselves or their children safe.”

Schiavo added that the state of emergency should focus on community relief efforts.

The letter calls for a “longitudinal health study” to fully assess the landfill’s impact on local residents’ health.

Since 2023, underground chemical reactions in a closed area of the landfill have resulted in toxic gas emissions, toxic leachate and runoff that has reached surrounding areas, according to the letter.

In February, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department declared Chiquita Canyon a public nuisance after the agency reported elevated levels of benzene and carbon tetrachloride, which respectively are known and probable cancer-causing chemicals. 

“Not only have these findings been validated from testing by the (California) Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board, but also the corrective actions and violations issued to the Landfill — some elevated to DTSC’s Office of Criminal Investigations — have raised concerns … that the situation is not under control and community health is not being treated with the urgency this disaster requires,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter noted the multiple regulatory agencies that have cited the landfill for violations.

“The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board’s denial of Chiquita Canyon’s request to authorize expanded operations, citing that the landfill’s revised Master Development Plan did not include ‘an adequate approach to contain the subsurface smoldering reaction,'” according to the letter.

In addition to violations from LA County, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board and the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, the landfill has received multiple violations a week from the South Coast Air Quality Management District as recently as Oct. 4, according to the letter.

The AQMD has received more than 20,000 complaints about landfill odors from nearby residents since January 2023, according to the agency.

A copy of the letter to the governor is available on Garcia’s website.

The Woodlands, Texas-based Waste Connections Inc. operates Chiquita Canyon Landfill, a 639-acre facility that has accepted solid waste since 1972.

“Chiquita Canyon Landfill continues to work collaboratively with its regulators and community,” a Chiquita Canyon spokesperson says. “As reflected in the latest order from the South Coast AQMD Hearing Board, Chiquita has agreed to tens of new conditions that are targeted at reducing the impacts of the ongoing landfill reaction.”

More information about the landfill is at chiquitacanyon.com.

Updated Oct. 10, 2024, 10:33 a.m.