Following the halt of operations at the troubled Chiquita Canyon Landfill, county supervisors were expected Tuesday to ask the Department of Public Works officials for a report on the financial and operational impacts of the closure.
Following thousands of odor and health complaints from Castaic-area residents and community activist groups, the facility’s operators announced last week that they were halting operations at the landfill. Dec. 31 was the final day any solid waste was accepted at the facility.
The landfill’s owners said they would 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.
Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger introduced a motion that will be heard Tuesday calling on the DPW “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 in a statement last week.
Tuesday’s motion would direct the DPW, in collaboration with County Counsel and the departments of Public Health and Regional Planning and the Local Enforcement Agency, to report back in 21 days with an analysis of the solid waste management closure.
The report is expected to detail where diverted waste will be taken, potential impacts at transfer stations, financial impacts for local jurisdictions and ratepayers, and recommendations on addressing the potential increase in illegal dumping as a result of the closure.
Another report expected back in 30 days on proposed regulations to address potential price gouging and anti-competitive practices for solid waste disposal in the county.
Meanwhile, a group of residents living near the facility plan to attend Tuesday’s meeting to call for a State of Emergency declaration by the board to address the “toxic effects” of the landfill.
Resident Oshea Orchid said in a statement that while the closure and the motion to study the implications of the closure are positive steps, “we are also deeply concerned that the health crisis in our community continues as residents are still being exposed to toxic landfill gases. The community has been asking for over a year for the Board of Supervisors to proclaim a State of Emergency to get immediate relief to community members being impacted.”
The county sued Chiquita Canyon LLC in federal court in December over the continued noxious emissions.
A group of area residents also sued the landfill’s owners in October 2024, 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.
Last year alone, there were 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 county alleges 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 the landfill has led to a cluster of cancer cases in the area.
The residents group Citizens for the Chiquita Canyon Landfill Closure issued a statement last week expressing “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.
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.