Methane Gas Case : Jury Awards $475,000 to Oceanside Landlord

A jury’s award this week of $475,000 to owners of an apartment complex because of the city’s improper operation of an adjacent landfill is the first of its kind in the state, an attorney for the landowner said Friday.

Leo Papas, attorney for Immelmann Venture Ltd., said that the verdict in Vista Superior Court was the first inverse condemnation action in California involving a methane gas peril to nearby residents. The award included $225,000 in damages caused by the seepage of methane gases from the former garbage dump onto the grounds of the 90-unit Country Club Apartments on the eastern edge of the landfill site.

The suit, filed in 1980 , initially claimed that the city had failed to properly compact the fill dirt on the private property where the apartment complex was built, and had violated agreements with the property owners by placing some garbage on the private land. Of the award, $250,000 was granted for damages caused by the improperly compacted fill. Owners testified that part of a retaining wall between the apartments and the dump had collapsed, cracks had appeared in parking lot pavement, and the apartment buildings themselves were in danger because of the faulty compaction in the city-supervised project.

Last summer, engineers discovered that methane gas, an odorless, colorless gas that is explosive if it builds up in confined spaces, had seeped from the former dump to the apartment site.

In recent weeks, methane gas detectors have been placed in ground-floor apartments of the complex to determine if the gas has seeped into the building. No alarms have been triggered yet.

The Maxson Street landfill was opened in 1960 at the start of construction of Interstate 5 through Oceanside. It was operated as a city landfill between 1963 and 1971. A methane gas extraction system was built to siphon off the toxic fumes created by the decaying garbage, but it did not operate effectively and was closed after surrounding residents complained about the noise and odors emanating from the plant.

Mayor Larry Bagley said Friday that the city has scheduled construction of another methane venting system at the Maxson Street site. The jury verdict against the city Thursday “may accelerate our plans,” Bagley added.

Oceanside City Council members have budgeted $300,000 for 1986-87 and an additional $195,000 for 1987-88 for the methane extraction system, Bagley said. He noted that the jury had specified that $225,000 of the award to the apartment complex owners was to be used for correcting the methane gas problem, and said that possibly a joint venture could be worked out between the city and the Immelmann partnership to construct the gas venting system.

A cooperative agreement with the property owners “could save the city a considerable amount of money,” Bagley said. He added that a decision on whether or not to appeal the jury award has not been made by the City Council.

Papas, attorney for the property owners, said that the court award, coupled with an earlier out-of-court settlement from former owners of the land, brought the total damages received by the partnership to $1.2 million.