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Trash Talk

Now and Then in the SCV | Commentary by Darryl Manzer

Darryl Manzer | Thursday, Jul 24, 2014

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Here in the SCV, we just can’t seem to get a break. Over on the east side of town there is the ever-present threat of a big Cemex gravel operation, and on the west side we have the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

Did you even know the Chiquita Canyon Landfill exists? Do you know where it is located? You can find it about three miles west of I-5 along Highway 126, on the north side of the road just before you get to the road that leads into Val Verde.

Don’t know when or if Cemex will ever be resolved, and I’m not going to comment about that except that we need more trucks on the 14 Freeway just like we need more red-light cameras anyplace. Not.

So the Chiquita Canyon Landfill is going to expand. A lot. A couple of hundred acres larger. It needs to expand because of all of the extra trash.

Thanks to Los Angeles County, the SCV is still the preferred dumping ground for many of the problems in the county. We have one of the nation’s largest, if not the largest, county jails (now also serving as a prison) right here in the SCV. We could end up with one of the nation’s largest aggregate mines (Cemex), too.

The landfill is going through the process to get the necessary permits for the expansion. So far, everything appears to be going in accordance with the regulations.

There is a little nagging question I have. When the landfill operation was started, it had enough capacity to handle the SCV’s trans for a long time to come. So why the needed expansion now?

Well, guess what? There is trash from all over the Southland coming to the SCV and going into that dump. In fact, roughly 80 percent of the stuff dumped there comes from outside the SCV.

Did you know there is a government agency called the “Los Angeles Area Integrated Waste Management Authority?” That “authority” is made up of Artesia, Beverly Hills, Duarte, and a bunch of other places including some in Orange County.

At least we’re getting some trash from the upper-class areas like Beverly Hills and Palos Verdes.

The new permit will allow the landfill folks to double the daily and weekly amounts of trash that can be dumped. That means there will be twice the number of trucks hauling it in. All along our roads and highways.

The maximum daily tonnage allowed now is 3,000 tons. That will double to 6,000 tons. The weekly permitted tonnage will be a maximum of 60,000 tons.

That is roughly like dropping the USS Iowa in that landfill every week. That is a lot of trash.

The process says we have 45 days to comment on the proposed expansion, and we can all do that – except for the folks in Val Verde. You see, the landfill company is still paying the Val Verde Civic Association roughly $350,000 a year until 2019 in exchange for their support of the landfill.

I don’t know about you, but back in the day, we called that “hush money.” You can see a copy of that agreement [here]. The agreement is still in effect.

So, is this legal? Yes, it is. 100 percent. I’m a little concerned about the ethics, though. I thought hush money was more often found in third-world countries. But since the county of Los Angeles dumps stuff here, we might as well be a part of the third world.

Now if all y’all want to say anything to anyone about the expansion, just head on over to the open hearing on July 31 at 6 p.m. at the Castaic Sports Complex. That is at 31320 North Castaic Road in Castaic.

It seems nobody is saying anything about the impact this is going to have on our valley. Please read the info and decide. Show up at the meeting, too.

I don’t like the idea of all of those extra trucks. I don’t support the expansion. I am a little concerned about Bowers Cave, which is found up in Chiquita Canyon on the landfill property. That was the cave where a whole bunch of Tataviam Indian artifacts were discovered. It is set to be protected.

If it is as protected as other Native American sites are, you had better ask to go see the cave now before someone trashes the place.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com and his commentaries are archived at DManzer.com. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].

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14 Comments

Stephanie Bentley Smith says:

Thursday, Jul 24, 2014 at

Thanks for posting on this. Many people within Val Verde are extremely concerned about this proposed expansion and the health toll it will have on our families. Any awareness that can be shone on this issue is greatly appreciated by those of us who will be most severely impacted by increased refuse, gases, and sludge being dumped in our backyards.

Reply
David Ian Stears says:

Thursday, Jul 24, 2014 at

Why dont they use Sunshine Canyon?

Reply
Arturo Campos says:

Thursday, Jul 24, 2014 at

I’m from val verde and a lot of Ppl have ha cancer over the years including me!! Landfill should close

Reply
Arturo Campos says:

Thursday, Jul 24, 2014 at

They use to burn tires or something because we could smell it!!!!!

Reply
David Barlavi says:

Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at

Stinks!

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at

I am the President of the Val Verde Civic Association and I, along with residents of my community will comment on the Draft EIR.

I urge residents of Val Verde to attend the VVCA meetings, which are the second Thursday or the month at the Val Verde Park Clubhouse at 7:00 pm.

Reply
Steve Lee says:

Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at

I am from Val Verde, and I brought up all my concerns. The landfill and the president of the committee that is the Lia-son for the landfill and the residents of Val Verde called me a fear monger-er. The landfill took in sludge high in arsenic which a pure violation of their permit. Now they want to take in sludge in the new permit. The smells out here sometimes wake people up in the night. We had monitors to measure gases, but they came up missing, a year later the liaison committee is still working on getting the monitors. We scream here in Val Verde, but who will listen to us?

Reply
jaime briano says:

Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at

I am on the VVCA. Contrary to some statements made, the community of Val Verde has every right to attend any meetings they wish to and speak up if they are apposed to the landfill. I have attended the CAC meetings that are a wast of time. We brought up the the monitors in question 8 months ago and have gotten absolutely no response.This group has people appointed by the county to advise us that don’t even live in Val Verde.ABSURD ! I sit at the VVCA meetings month after month for hours,we have the same folks attend. it seems like everyone loves to complain from their coaches.

Reply
- Steve Lee says:
  
  Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at
  
  I agree Jaime, it is easy to complain from the couch, but that gets nothing done. If people would show up and complain at the landfill committees then maybe the power would shift.
  
  On another note, I believe Sunshine is going to close and we will be taking in their trash.
  
  Reply
jim soliz says:

Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at

Let see if I have this right. They said they have permits across the site to build 2,000 houses to sell to whom, how soon? Really? So that the people who are to live in those houses can smell trash, get Cancer, and be miserable while paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege?
REALLY?

Reply
- Steve Lee says:
  
  Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at
  
  You forgot to mention that they are closing the entrance to the landfill on the 126 and building a mountain to block the view. The people buying the 21,000 houses to come in will be clueless, until they live with the smells we live with in Val Verde.
  
  If you are smelling landfill, it is indicative that gases are traveling with the smells.
  
  Reply
  - jim soli9z says:
    
    Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at
    
    Thanks for correcting my “2000 Houses figure. Its actyually 21,000. Right? 21,000 houses that will house about an average of 4 people per house are going to be expose3d to smells and lead, and pesticides all leaching down their way. I’m glad we have haqve the ACA to handle the costs of the effects of the smell (asthma) and ….but why go on!
    
    Reply
    - Steve Lee says:
      
      Friday, Jul 25, 2014 at
      
      I hope people will show up for the meeting in Castaic at the sports complex at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday the 31st. That is their only chance to say anything about the concerns of landfill expanding.
      
      http://www.signalscv.com/section/36/article/124336/
      
      They flat out lied in this article where they say Val Verde residents are for it. Also the 7,000 homes that get the electricity are not in our community, they are in Glendale.
      
      They took in sludge which is a violation. Google sludge/santa barbara/ chiquita canyon.
      
      When confronted John Musella said the sludge denied by Santa Barbara because of their air quality standards is good enough for Val Verde.
      
      Santa Clarita is not that far from the landfill, why are they not fighting?
      I know Castaic is getting paid, at their meeting they call it the “Golden Egg that was dropped into their lap” I do not know if it is worth their kids future.
      
      Reply
- Steve Lee says:
  
  Saturday, Jul 26, 2014 at
  
  VVCAC the liaisons between the landfill and Val Verde will be having their meeting this Monday night at the Embassy Sweets near the 5 Freeway and New Hall Ranch road at 6p.m. Please feel free to come out and listen to their stories of how glad we are to have the landfill. How we never smell it, and if we do we are mistaken. How they do not take in sludge with Arsenic even though Santa Barbara sold it to them. How they give electricity to 7,000 homes in our community. Well the community of Glendale, but close enough. If you are lucky you can hear them yell at us that we do not deserve to see the minutes. Fun for all.
  
  We are being sold down the river in Val Verde.
  
  Reply

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