Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) with the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation, delivered a formal letter on Tuesday, April 15 to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors urging immediate and robust public health action to address the growing crisis at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

After state legislators learned last month that the underground landfill fire had tripled in size from 30 to 90 acres and is now expected to burn for multiple decades, a letter was drafted that calls on the Board of Supervisors and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to take decisive steps to protect the health and safety of residents in Val Verde, Castaic and Santa Clarita impacted by the underground fire burning at the landfill.

Los Angeles County is the lead enforcement agency over the landfill,

Schiavo attended the Board of Supervisors meeting to provide public comment and delivered the letter in person to request urgent action.

The fire burning at the landfill is resulting in exposure to hazardous chemicals like methane, hydrogen sulfide and cancer-causing toxins like acrolein and benzene. Residents have reported headaches, nausea, nosebleeds, dizziness, heart palpitations, vomiting, breathing difficulties and even tremors. Others have been diagnosed with and died from cancer.

“Residents are suffering every single day from severe health impacts due to toxic exposure, and they have been for years,” said Schiavo. “With the fire now tripling in size to 90 acres and expected to burn for multiple decades, this is no longer a slow-moving crisis. It’s an emergency, and the response for neighbors being made sick must reflect that. Our communities deserve the same level of urgency, action and care that was provided in past disasters like Aliso Canyon or the other Los Angeles Fires.”

The letter, signed by 22 members of the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation, compares the severity of the current crisis to the 2015 Aliso Canyon gas storage facility leak, also in Assembly District 40 and outlines a detailed roadmap for the Department of Public Health to follow, including the implementation of a comprehensive CASPER door-to-door health study, increased public information, community engagement, and an order requiring relocation support for the most impacted residents and home hardening for other neighbors.

Lawmakers also requested that the Board of Supervisors declare a local State of Emergency, citing the urgent need for additional resources and protection. If such a declaration is not made, the letter calls for alternative relief options, including mortgage forbearance and property tax transfer and reassessments for affected homeowners.

Among the actions requested in the letter:

–Immediate health notices to hospitals, clinics and providers in North Los Angeles County.

— A dedicated website and public awareness campaign about the chemicals released and the health impacts.

— A town hall for residents, parents and educators to hear directly from public health officials.

— A door-to-door CASPER (Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response) study to evaluate the scope of medical impacts.

— An order for relocation assistance and home hardening funded by the landfill operator.

— Annual health studies to track long-term effects on the community.

The letter highlights the alarming comparison between Chiquita Canyon Landfill crisis and the Aliso Canyon gas leak, noting that the county’s response then, including relocation orders, was based on far fewer health complaints and lower toxic gas readings than currently being reported at Chiquita Canyon.

Since April 2023, over 28,000 odor and symptom complaints have been submitted to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, more than 20,000% higher than the number filed during the early days of Aliso Canyon.

“Our communities deserve a response based on the symptoms they are experiencing, which are serious, urgent, and for some, could be life-long and life threatening,” Schiavo said. “We are demanding the county act with the urgency and humanity this crisis demands and our community is treated no differently than others in LA County with similar impacts on health. After three years of a burning landfill, at a certain point this lack of response to protect public health becomes negligent.”

The letter is attached to be viewed in its entirety and can be viewed here.

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