Monterey Park : Landfill Gas Testing Bill Signed
Gov. George Deukmejian has signed a landfill gas bill that was inspired by the disclosure earlier this year that gas obtained from a Monterey Park landfill by Southern California Gas Co. was contaminated with vinyl chloride and other carcinogens.
The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica) and backed by an unusual coalition of environmental groups and public utilities, will require that landfill gas be tested for vinyl chloride and will prohibit the delivery of contaminated gas to homes.
Southern California Gas Co., which no longer buys landfill gas, was among the bill’s supporters. The company says some of the gas it purchased from the Operating Industries Inc. landfill in Monterey Park from 1978 to 1986 contained low levels of vinyl chloride, but that it was diluted with natural gas before delivery to customers. According to the company, vinyl chloride was never detected in gas in homes.
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