Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger has announced $2 million will be made available initially to support community members burdened by the pungent odors stemming from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

“There is no doubt in my mind that residents who live near the landfill are suffering,” said Barger. “My hope is that these funds will begin to provide some immediate and much deserved relief. I have made it clear to the landfill’s owner, to the county departments involved permitting the landfill’s operations and to the state agencies responsible for its regulation that this is an urgent issue. I will not let up until we get rid of the smell.”

This initial round of funding is from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill’s Community Benefit Fund, monies derived from the landfill’s operation that are earmarked for initiatives related to improving the community’s quality of life experience.

Residents who live within a predetermined radius of the Chiquita Canyon landfill will be eligible for grant awards per household. Priority areas and grant award ranges will be announced next week.

Funds can be used to make home modifications that keep the landfill’s odors out of living areas, including retrofitting homes to include air conditioning for those with only swamp coolers, adding insulation and replacing windows and doors. Residents can also use the grant to pay for utility bills, including electricity bills that have skyrocketed due to constant use of indoor air conditioning systems.

More information about the Chiquita Canyon Landfill Grant Program, including how to apply, will be posted next week at chiquitacanyon.com.

The grant program will be administered by the Los Angeles County Development Authority.

To find a permanent solution to stopping the odors coming from the landfill, Barger has also launched a whole-of-county-government effort. At her direction, a new Los Angeles County Chiquita Canyon Task Force has been convening since August 2023 that includes representatives from Public Works, Regional Planning, Public Health, County Counsel and the Office of Emergency Management. Its members are working with state agencies and the landfill’s operator, Chiquita Canyon LLC, emphasizing the urgency of the community’s needs, identifying and eliminating red tape and providing technical assistance as needed.

Los Angeles County’s Department of Regional Planning has also installed a telephone line and email inbox to directly receive public complaints regarding the Chiquita Canyon Landfill odor incident. To file a complaint, email ChiquitaComplaints@lacounty.gov or call (213) 974-6483 Monday through Thursday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The root cause of the odors, including which part of the landfill they are coming from, is currently being investigated. The state agency CalRecycle, which has regulatory oversight responsibilities for solid waste disposal facilities, is presently analyzing samples.

Attorneys from Los Angeles County also have sent a letter to Chiquita Canyon LLC, asking them to temporarily reduce the landfill’s daily solid waste and other materials intake by 35% of the maximum daily tonnage capacity as set forth in the landfill’s Conditional Use Permit, “until the source and the cause of the odor problem are definitively established, the corresponding remedial measures implemented, and it becomes clear that the odors have been eliminated or reduced to such a level that there no longer exists an unacceptable threat to the health, safety and/or welfare of the county’s residents or the environment.”