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Traveling Smells

Now and Then in the SCV | Commentary by Darryl Manzer

Darryl Manzer | Sunday, Oct 19, 2014

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Last month I returned from a short stay at a campground north of Santa Barbara. By the time all of us – I, along with Mr. Renly (my basset hound) in my RV (named Billy Bob), pulling my Jeep (Betty Boop) – got to Valencia Travel Village on Highway 126, I just was too tired to continue, so I pulled in and got a space.

They had assigned me a space at the west end of the RV park close to the Little League fields. I got set up and cooked some dinner. Washed dishes, then decided to call it an early night.

It was a cool evening, and I loved the air coming in my windows on the soft breeze. Mr. Renly was pretty happy, too, since he got to chase a couple of squirrels up the nearby trees before being brought inside to dream of what he would have done if he caught them.

There were no facilities west of where I was parked other than the ball fields. I could hear the traffic on the 126, but it wasn’t too loud. I was seated at my desk and was checking email, along with writing a commentary for the next day, as is my routine.

I was tired after navigating Billy Bob over some twisting roads, then through Solvang to the 101. Turning south, the traffic was horrible, so the drive took a lot longer than expected. Thus my stop.

All was well until about 0300 hours. (3 a.m. to most of you). There was a smell coming in the window that can only be described as awful. It wasn’t a sewer smell; it was much worse. I know smells after being on submarines that had all kinds of sewage problems.

I got dressed and went outside. A short walk toward the ball fields, and I knew it wasn’t from there or from the RV park. So I jumped into Betty Boop (the Jeep) and took a drive toward Val Verde.

Passing the entrance, I saw some trucks entering the dump. I was too tired to notice the time. As I approached the town, the smell went away. It was on a west wind, and I was now upwind of the dump. I continued all the way around to Hasley Canyon, then Commerce Center Drive and turned toward the Castaic Union School District office.

The smell was stronger, the closer I got to the dump. I was actually able to move out of the smell, and I know that is the only place it could have come from.

I don’t know if those trucks had anything to do with the smell. I do know it was very strong – strong enough, I woke up.

Not long after sunrise I was outside walking Mr. Renly and a couple parked in the RV next to me were having morning coffee, too. They, like me, were only staying a night. They asked if I had smelled that terrible odor the night before.

I said yes, and they asked if I had any idea what caused it.

I said I didn’t know, but I think it was coming from the landfill to the west, and I pointed toward Chiquita Canyon.

Now, I’m no expert on odors from a landfill. I do know it wasn’t septic tanks and septic systems in Val Verde, because I drove through that little town and didn’t smell anything. Instead, when I went to the east of the landfill and downwind, the odor was nearly overpowering.

Chiquita says it has an effective odor-control system.

Well, the dump does have an effective odor-control system. It is the odor of greenbacks. The good ol’ Yankee dollar. Hand out enough of them, and folks lose their sense of smell. I can name one group that seems to have lost that sense and above all, common sense, when it comes to the dump.

Anyone want to guess which group?

Now if the latest U.S. Census is correct, it looks like more than 50 percent of the population of Val Verde is Latino or Hispanic. With all of the smells and problems, I find it strange that the SCV Latino Chamber of Commerce is supporting the Chiquita Canyon Landfill expansion. Some of the very individuals they want to represent are stuck in a dangerous situation.

But I don’t know. If I’m supposed to be able to forecast the future, why can’t I make better predictions?

So I’ll leave it at that.

And we still don’t know where the community of Honby got its name.

Enjoy the day.

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. His older commentaries are archived at DManzer.com; his newer commentaries can be accessed [here]. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].

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18 Comments

Julie Davenport says:

Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 at

Everyone in this valley should read this. Especially the residents of Val Verde, Hasley Canyon and Castaic.

Reply
Julie Davenport says:

Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 at

Everyone in this valley should read this. Especially the residents of Val Verde, Hasley Canyon and Castaic.

Reply
Susie Evans says:

Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 at

Daryl, did you talk to the managers of Travel Village about it? I wonder if the short term travelers there just deal and move on.

Reply
Dr. Faye Snyder says:

Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 at

Yes! I often drive home to Val Verde at midnight from work, sometimes later, and I am stunned by the smells from the landfill on 126. I keep wondering why the major land investors who are planning to build a huge community where the cows now graze will not worry about the landfill downgrading the value of that property to residents. It really stinks along and across 126. How are they going to sell people there?

Reply
Terry Scrivner says:

Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 at

This is horrible..we have a huge desert…build it far away from people…not healthy

Reply
Jennifer Fischer says:

Sunday, Oct 19, 2014 at

Thanks for sharing this. Val Verde residents are very aware of this and have stated their very intense desire for the Chiquita Canyon Landfill to close, as it agreed to do, when it hit a certain capacity (which it is close to reaching) or in 2019 (I believe, that’s the year). Yet, the landfill is now seeking to double its capacity and everyone in Val Verde is against the expansion. However, the LA County Supervisors, who will vote on the expansion, do not seem to be interested in our feelings or desires (or these odors) and have given no indication that they will vote against the landfill expansion. We will need lots of press coverage and lots of fellow Santa Clarita Valley residents making their voices heard against the landfill to have a chance at countering this expansion.

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Monday, Oct 20, 2014 at

For years, the landfill has told the residents of Val Verde that the odors are from dead animals, trash cans, septic tanks, agriculture and even a flower!

Then somehow facts got turned and residents were told that the best way to report odor complaints was to call the landfill first vs calling the AQMD (gov’t agency).

Then the facts got even more twisted and the residents were told that the AQMD wouldn’t come by to check their complaint, unless they received 5 calls in a 30 minute window.

Just this year, the residents have found out that they should call the AQMD first, since it only takes one phone call to the AQMD (during normal business hours) or three calls after hours for them to respond and if they confirm 6 complaints in a one day period, the landfill will receive a Notice of Violation.

So, in the last few months, the AQMD has received a large number of complaints – a large increase from before, when someone was passing out the wrong information. And the landfill has publicly stated that these complaints are fraudulent and are wasting taxpayer money. They even have someone from the West Ranch Town Council making all sorts of false accusations about this, even though we can assume that he hasn’t been to Val Verde to try to confirm the odor complaints. Is this just a return of a favor, or is there money involved? Why risk his reputation by passing propaganda from the landfill?

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Monday, Oct 20, 2014 at

The landfill also has a contract with Val Verde, which was signed in 1997. In this agreement, it states that the landfill shall close when 23 M tons are reached or Nov 24, 2019, whichever comes first.

Since they are in the process of expanding the landfill, we take it to mean that they will not honor the contract. This shouldn’t surprise us, since we have found out that they breached contract prior to this.

The contract states that they will not accept Sludge, PERIOD! Here are some more facts on this Sludge:
– The landfill bid on numerous contracts to accept Sludge
– The landfill won at least one contract to accept Sludge
– The contract was for 3,600 tons – 7,200,000 pounds of Sludge
– The Sludge came from a water treatment plant, where it was tested and found to have Arsenic
– The community specifically put “No Sludge” in the contract, to prevent things like this from happening
– The landfill tried to change the name of the material on the invoice
– LA County gave the landfill a Notice of Violation for accepting Sludge
– The landfill’s permit also does not allow Sludge
– When confronted by the community, the landfill publicly stated that the material they took in wasn’t Sludge
– The community researched this and found that the EPA and the California Code or Regulation both have the same definition of Sludge
– The community also found out that Waste Connections (the parent company of the landfill) has the same definition on their website
– The landfill finally changed their story and admit to taking in Sludge
– The landfill rep mocked the woman who found the violation, by calling her names
– The landfill has made a public statement that they tested the Sludge and it does not contain Arsenic
– I doubt that they tested the Sludge and have asked for the test results
– The landfill claim that the test results are proprietary information
– The 7.2 Million pounds of Sludge are still buried in the landfill. The residents are worried about the contents of this Sludge and what the health effects are.
– As of this date, the landfill will not remove the Sludge – the community of Val Verde lives with the fear of what this Sludge can do to us.

Reply
Chrisoula Espinoza says:

Tuesday, Oct 21, 2014 at

I live in Castaic it’s not that bad but there are moments when it’s obvious….

Reply
John Musella says:

Tuesday, Oct 21, 2014 at

Greg… As the landfill rep you continuously reference and deliberately misquote with false attributions, I would like to say the claims you’ve made in your comments above are riddled with misinformation and are misleading at best. We’ve asked you to provide proof of your allegations and you have not… because it does not exist.

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 at

Sludge: See Waste Connections Definition at http://www.wasteconnections.com/specialwaste/definitions.aspx

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 at

Sludge: See EPA definition (Code of Federal Regulations) http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title40-vol27/xml/CFR-2012-title40-vol27-sec260-10.xml

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 at

Here is where Chiquita Canyon Landfill accepted the contract for 3,600 tons of sludge.

http://chiquitalandfill.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/santa-barbara-sludge-approval.pdf

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 at

Here is where the contract says they aren’t allowed to accept sludge: http://www.valverdecac.com/pdf/StatementofAgreements.pdf

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 at

The permit for Chiquita Canyon Landfill prohibits them from accepting sludge: http://www.valverdecac.com/pdf/MinutesofBOS.pdf

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 at

Sludge definition: California Code of Regulations, Title 23, Chapter 15, Section 2601 https://govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Document/I1DF743B0D45B11DEA95CA4428EC25FA0?viewType=FullText&originationContext=documenttoc&transitionType=CategoryPageItem&contextData=(sc.Default)

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 at

Arsenic naturally occurs in ground water. RO filters remove it and since they are from the treatment of water, the filters are part of the sludge.

The landfill has claimed to have tested the sludge, but they will not provide the results. This was requested at a CATC public meeting on more than one occasion.

Here is information which states that the ground water does have arsenic. http://dpw.lacounty.gov/wwd/web/Documents/In-situ%20Arsenic%20Removal.pdf

Reply
Greg Kimura says:

Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 at

I could post copies of the Notice of Violation here next.

Also, the person who John Musella made fun of could verify what he said.

And there are plenty of witnesses who could verify what was said at these public meetings.

So, based on what I posted tonight, I would say that the general message is that Chiquita Canyon Landfill broke their operating permit by accepting sludge. They breached contract by accepting sludge. This sludge is still at the site of the landfill. It’s obvious why Val Verde doesn’t want this sludge so close to homes. The community does not want it and wants Chiquita Canyon Landfill to do the right thing and remove it from the premises.

It surely doesn’t look good when the Chiquita Canyon Landfill rep keeps trying to confuse the issue by saying the facts are “riddled with misinformation and are misleading at best”. It’s a distant hope that they will be the good neighbors they claim to be, so instead of putting another spin on things or doing a cover up job, it would also be nice if they apologized to the community. And if they keep stating that the facts above are “riddled with misinformation”, how about proving it?

And so we don’t have a disagreement on what riddled means, here’s what the Oxford Dictionary says http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/riddle?q=riddled#riddle__9

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