[KHTS] – A group of Santa Clarita Valley residents who live near a landfill seeking permission from Los Angeles County to expand are asking county officials for more time and more bilingual support to consider the landfill’s expansion.
The proposed Chiquita Canyon landfill expansion is undergoing the required public comment period, which is expected to end Sept. 23. The comment deadline has already been extended once, from its original date of Aug. 24.
“The request is made on the grounds that literature pertinent to the proposal, including the environmental report, as well as notices of public hearings and meetings, are only being made available in English,” according to an informal group of residents calling themselves the Citizens for Chiquita Canyon Landfill Compliance, or CCCLC.
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A representative from the Chiquita Canyon landfill in Val Verde said the landfill began outreach at least a month before the comment period, and operators have made numerous efforts to work with the area’s residents.
“When we presented at the Val Verde Civic Association on June 12, the VVCA did not provide a Spanish translator for Val Verde residents at the meeting, nor was one requested,” said John Musella, a Chiquita Canyon landfill representative who previously was appointed to serve on the Val Verde Community Advisory Committee by Supervisor Michael Antonovich from 2005-11.
“In fact, as part of the 1997 agreement between Chiquita Canyon and Val Verde, Chiquita Canyon paid for and provided Spanish translation equipment to the Val Verde Civic Association at their request. Apparently, that equipment has since been misplaced,” he said.
About two-thirds of Val Verde residents speak Spanish at home, according to 2012 Census data offered by the group.
At the heart of the debate for some residents is the contention they were told the landfill would close in 2019 — while landfill officials say nothing in the language of their conditional use permit precludes them from applying for a permit extension.
The 639-acre landfill site, which is owned by Waste Connections and permitted for about 257 acres of waste, is looking to double its daily disposal limits, set aside of land for a potential conversion technology site, improve its entrance and support facilities and extend the life of the landfill, to name a few of the project’s goals.
The landfill is located outside city of Santa Clarita limits about three miles west of the intersection of Interstate 5 and Highway 126.
A [petition against the landfill] is being circulated online by the CCCLC.
“A lot of people in Val Verde, when they were buying their property, were told that it would shut down (by 2019), not be open for another 40 years,” said Erica Larsen, a CalArts grad and Val Verde resident who bought a home with her husband on Tax Day last year.
Musella said that’s just not the case, and suggested the misinformation was coming from within the community, not the landfill’s operators.
“We have followed all of the requirement by the County of Los Angeles in providing public notice and notification for the draft EIR,” Musella said.
In addition, the landfill’s representatives actively are negotiating the establishment of two funds to compensate residents for their potential concerns with the dumping grounds.
“It would be two separate agreements, one with Val Verde and one with Castaic,” Musella said. “We would basically be continuing the existing fund in Val Verde, and then we would establish a new community benefits fund in Castaic.”
The CCCLC is not wholly opposed to the expansion, Larsen said, as the group does not advocate a formal position, but is more of a group of 20-30 residents to get together and discuss concerns.
“Our main goal is just to have compliance,” she said. “We’re allowing people to explore their own avenue; some people want the place closed, others want to see if the expansion can be a little more reasonable and transparent, as far monitoring the gases and other concerns.”
The need for the size of the expansion has also been [called into question], because only about one-fifth of the trash brought there is from the Santa Clarita Valley, according to state data.
The proposed project will increase the permitted waste footprint within the existing property line by approximately 143 acres by extending it slightly south toward the existing landfill entrance and to the north and east.
The waste footprint will increase from the currently permitted acreage, approximately 257 acres, to approximately 400 acres. It would also increase the permitted height of the landfill by 133 feet to a maximum elevation of 1,573 feet.
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22 Comments
I just read with shock that the City of Santa Clarita Council has alligned itself with SCOPE and is requesting an additional 30-day extension to the public comment period for the landfill expansion. Apparently the City and SCOPE are finally on the same page as they’re the only ones that actually want an extension. Guess the City Council has finally joined the ranks of the anti-business, anti-deevlopment NIMBY’s of the SCV.
For the record, you say “finally,” but it’s nowhere near the first time. Cemex, Elsmere, Bermite…
The Chiquita Canyon Landfill has not made a presentation to the Val Verde Civic Association Landfill Committee as of this date.
The Chiquita Canyon Landfill never sent a notice to the residents of Val Verde, regarding their presentation at the VVCA meeting.
The community of Val Verde is the nearest and most affected by the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.
The Chiquita Canyon Landfill has 3,600 tons of sludge, buried somewhere in the site, even though it is against their permit from the county and the agreement with the VVCA.
This sludge was banned from the Tolland Landfill in Santa Paula, but has wound up here. It is still in the landfill.
Mr. John Musella, the Public Relations Rep the landfill has hired, has informed the community that Chiquita Canyon Landfill tested the loads of sludge and there is nothing we should be worried about. When asked if he could provide the test results, he told the community that it was not available to the public. When asked if he was aware that this was banned from the Santa Paula Landfill, he said he didn’t know and it doesn’t matter.
Mr. John Musella, has also told our community on numerous occasions that in regard to landfills, there are many definitions of sludge. If find it interesting that the definition that the landfill’s parent company uses is the same as the EPA’s definition and the one used by the California Code of Regulations. The CCR is referenced in their permit also.
He told the community that the landfill changed the invoice so it no longer reads sludge. The material they took in, still falls under the definition of the three sources above. They still have the Notice of Violation on their record. They illegally accepted sludge, got paid for it and they refuse to remove it.
Greg… Chiquita made its very first DEIR presentation to the Val Verde Civic Association on June 12, 2014. You sent emails to residents of VV in advance of the presentation as you do with all your meetings and there were about 80 residents there. We also posted on our website an announcement for the presentation. We presented and answered questions from VV residents for over an hour. And… all but one member of the Landfill Committee was present for that presentation.
Greg… you’ve been parading around for months spreading misinformation about “arsenic laced” sludge that was accepted at the landfill. I have asked you directly, in public, for proof of these wild allegations and you have refused to provide it. Why? Because what you claim is not true.
John, I think you’re aware that my email list does not include all residents of Val Verde. If not, you now do.
You did send notice to residents, regarding the Castaic Area Town Council’s Land Use Committee, which was held outside of Val Verde. If you’re willing to send notice to all Val Verde residents regarding a meeting in Castaic, why didn’t you do the same for the meeting in Val Verde?
I hope you can see why the community feels this is unfair.
John, you are trying to change the subject again. Okay, let’s throw out the arsenic laced sludge for now and get back to what I’m trying to focus on.
1. 3,600 tons of sludge are still buried in the landfill.
2. The sludge was illegally taken in – against the permit from the county.
3. The dumping of sludge is a breach of contract with the VVCA.
4. The sludge was banned from the Tolland Landfill.
5. This same sludge was accepted at Chiquita Canyon.
6. Call it by any name you would like, the County gave a Notice of Violation for accepting the sludge.
7. You have told us that the sludge was tested and is safe, yet you refuse to share the test results with the community.
If you would like, I can provide proof of these 7 items.
#1 and #7 came directly from you.
Mr. Musella, I have links to lawsuits, and other official documents stating that Chiquita Canyon Landfill has taken in toxic waste and nuclear waste. I want to know why we have to find out these things by searching for ourselves? Why was the community not notified at any point of these unhealthy items being taken in by the landfill? Mike Dean admitted he authorized the acceptance of sludge at the meeting in Castaic with the Castaic Area Town Council or maybe it was their land use committee. Either way he admitted the wrong doing. You are a paid Public Relations company that is not doing much good, in my opinion, with the relations between Val Verde and the Landfill. You want the proof, quit snickering and making snide comments at meetings, and I will show you all the proof.
Steve Roter, I never mentioned Vanessa Brookman in my reply. But since you brought the incident up, yes I asked her to step outside, not to fight with her, but to discuss our personal differences that have spilled out onto the landfill topic that go back to when she first moved to Val Verde. I am not going to tell you what our personal differences are, but you do not know the entire story of Vanessa and Val Verde.
Steve Roter lives on heresay, since he doesn’t show up at these meetings. He may have a good reason for not actively participating, but up to this point, he’s just badgering the ones he sees as his opponent. In my opinion, it’s a very poor method of dialog.
At this point, I will ignore his remarks and until he comes to a public meeting, I think all of us should do the same.
Thank you.
Greg
(From Leon) I’m confused – I thought he worked for the PR firm-? Isn’t the PR firm based out of state? How would he come to a meeting?
I would still like to see the test results the landfill is claiming they have, regarding the sludge they illegally took in. Can the landfill provide this? Or is another lie coming from them?
The VVCA Landfill Committee held a meeting on September 11, 2014 regarding the Chiquita Canyon Expansion. The results of this meeting came down to a vote from the residents. Here are the results of the vote.
1. Number of residents voting against the expansion: 112
2. Number of residents voting for the expansion: 0
3. Number of people in attendance: 124
Leon, John Musella is the PR guy for the landfill. His company is John Musella APR. I have no idea who John Roter is.
Oh! Maybe I’m just remembering something about John? Steve? Roter showing up out of state. I guess it would be helpful if he’d disclose his financial information.
OOPS….I have no idea who Steve Roter is.
Is someone implying that Steve Roter is John Musella?
Well, I (Leon), for one, am not trying to imply anything — I simply said I thought he worked for the landfill company or its PR firm. If he doesn’t, then I guess I thought wrong … but if he doesn’t, then what’s his deal? What’s wrong with the guy?