The Chiquita Canyon Landfill, which has generated thousands of odor complaints and been targeted in lawsuits by Castaic-area residents and Los Angeles County, will halt its solid waste operations on Wednesday, the operators announced Tuesday.
Tuesday will be the final day the landfill will accept any waste. The landfill's owners will continue to operate the property as they work to control noxious odors that have been emanating from the facility due to what has been described as an underground chemical reaction.
"The closure of the landfill was expected so I've been monitoring this development closely," Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger, whose district includes the landfill, said in a statement Tuesday. "This is a significant change for our community and brings a responsibility to carefully assess its impacts on residents, businesses, and our regional waste management system."
Barger said she will introduce a motion at next week's Board of Supervisors meeting calling on the county Department of Public Works "to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the closure's implications."
"This review will examine its effect on waste disposal operations, environmental considerations, and community health," Barger said. "I'm committed to ensuring that this transition doesn't lead to any form of price gouging or unfair practices in waste management services. Protections must be in place to prevent increased financial burdens on our residents and businesses.
"I want to emphasize that my top priority, though, continues to be bringing relief to the community that continues being afflicted by the landfill's noxious odors. The landfill's closure will not stop their suffering since the incident is occurring in a closed, inactive portion. The lawsuit Los Angeles County has filed against Chiquita Canyon Landfill's owners and operators, pursuing relief for impacted communities, seeks to right that wrong."
The county sued Chiquita Canyon LLC in federal court earlier this month over the continued noxious emissions. A group of area residents also sued the landfill's owners in October, alleging the company failed to properly manage the landfill's gas capture, control systems and leachate systems. Leachate is a polluted liquid that forms from rainwater filtering through solid waste.
The alleged failure caused the emission of elevated and harmful levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic gases, creating unsafe living conditions for thousands of residents, the residents' lawsuit says.
This year alone, there have been 13,000 odor complaints about the landfill, according to plaintiffs' attorneys in the October suit. Residents have reported headaches, nausea, respiratory issues and the inability to enjoy use of their properties due to the offensive smells, the suit states.
Landfill officials have said odors from the facility are due to "an abnormal biotic or abiotic process, also known as a landfill reaction, taking place deep within a lined but older and inactive portion of the landfill waste mess."
The landfill operators announced plans to cease operations in an email sent to residents in the area. The email, obtained by the Santa Clarita Valley Signal, stated that the operation is "no longer economically viable."
"Chiquita had wished to maintain its crucial role in the community's solid waste-management system, but has made the difficult decision to close its active waste disposal operations," Steve Cassulo, district manager for Chiquita Canyon, wrote in the email, the Signal reported.
"Although Chiquita has available airspace, due to the current regulatory environment, maintaining ongoing operations at Chiquita is no longer economically viable. Chiquita remains committed to working with federal, state, regional and local authorities to protect public health and to continue addressing the (elevated temperature landfill event), and will also continue working to maintain compliance with its permits, governing orders and agreements."
Meanwhile, the residents group Citizens for the Chiquita Canyon Landfill Closure expressed "surprise and relief" at the closure -- but labeled it only an "initial positive step" while calling for continued vigilance of the landfill's owner and the site's ongoing maintenance operations.
In addition, the group called for the Board of Supervisors to declare a state of emergency "so that the hundreds who are still suffering and critically ill can get the help they need."
"My community has been suffering for far too long," Jennifer Elkins, a local activist and member of the group, said in a statement.
"The closure of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill is a first step in the right direction and will bring relief from fresh trash odors and allow the landfill to focus fully on the bigger issue, which is the reaction site. The reaction at the landfill, which is releasing toxic chemicals and poisoning neighbors is far from over and it's crucial that a state of emergency is issued, so residents and schools can be relocated to safety."
Oshea Orchid, an area resident, local leader and managing partner of the law firm Sethi Orchid Miner, said in a statement released by the group: "While this is a victory for our efforts, we are also deeply concerned that this action will allow the owner and operator of the landfill to not feel the needed urgency to resolve the horrific health and safety issues that the landfill's presence has created."
"The community has been asking for over a year for the Board of Supervisors to allow for immediate relief that would come from a declaration of a state of emergency," Orchid added.
Natalie Tate, another local resident, who has lived in the area since 1989 said, "Oh my God, this is a New Year's miracle. I am praying that the toxic odors from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill -- leachate and chemical gas -- will be a top priority now as Waste Connections starts to clean up this ecological disaster."
According to Barger's office, the county Department of Public Works has been actively preparing for a closure of the landfill and planning to ensure there is no disruption in trash collection for residents.
"As the agency responsible for regional waste planning in Los Angeles County, we will ensure there are no disruptions to trash collection services in our unincorporated communities and will work closely with the city of Santa Clarita to help prevent any disruptions to their services as well," Mark Pestrella, director of Los Angeles County Public Works, said in a statement. "The health and safety of our residents remains our top priority."
County officials have said the underground reaction, located in a closed section of the landfill's northwest corner, has severely impacted surrounding neighborhoods, including Val Verde, Halsey Hills, Hasley Canyon and other areas of Castaic, the county contends.
Residents have reported daily exposure to foul odors, experiencing symptoms such as migraine headaches, nausea, bloody noses, respiratory issues and even cardiac complications. The county alleges that local families have been forced to stay indoors, run their air conditioning and heat at all times of the day, and have been unable to enjoy outdoor activities or even use their yards -- further impacting mental health and wellbeing, especially of children.
The county has also been assessing resident claims that the landfill has led to a cluster of cancer cases in the area.