L.A. County Supervisor calls for Glendale to revise report on Scholl Canyon Landfill project
Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis blasted the city of Glendale and its utility this week for what she claims is a failure to connect with residents in her district about a proposed green-waste, electricity-generating plant at the Scholl Canyon Landfill and asked for a revision of the environmental impact report for the project.
The city is currently reviewing two proposals for the landfill operated by Glendale Water & Power.
An environmental impact report is still under review for one proposal — a 535-acre expansion of the facility.
Glendale City Council is also examining the feasibility of the second proposal — a biogas-generation project that would involve constructing an anaerobic digester that uses conversion technology to break down organic waste into methane, or biogas, to generate electric energy.
For years, Glendale and Eagle Rock residents have complained to the city and Glendale Water & Power regarding several environmental and safety issues they think the landfill poses. Some have gone so far as to call for the landfill to be shut down within the next decade.
Solis said in a statement that residents in her district, particularly those in Eagle Rock and Highland Park, would be the most negatively impacted by the biogas-generation plant, adding that she outright opposes its construction.
“It is outrageous and unacceptable that Glendale Water & Power conducted no notification or outreach about their plans or environmental review to residents and other stakeholders, my office and the County Department of Public Works,” Solis said.
“The biogas-generation project will contribute to already-existing bad air quality, increase traffic in the surrounding neighborhoods and promises more dust and noise for the entire region,” she added.
Solis requested that Glendale Water & Power officials revise their pending environmental impact report on the project to encompass regions beyond Glendale’s borders as well as extend the public comment period beyond its current Nov. 20 date.
She also reiterated her support of the landfill’s eventual closure.
“Scholl Canyon continues to be an environmental injustice for the residents of my district, and I will do everything I can to ensure that the landfill is closed on schedule,” Solis said.
According to the L.A. County Department of Public Health and Solid Waste Management Program, the landfill is expected to close in April 2030. However, recent waste-reduction practices have lowered the amounts of trash trucked to the facility daily, on average, and increased the landfill’s lifespan.
Twitter: @JeffLanda
