Local News in Brief : Water Board OKs Dump’s Expansion
After two years of negotiations, the Azusa Land Reclamation Co. has won approval from a regional water board to expand its dump.
Despite the approval by the Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board, San Gabriel Valley water officials complained that the expansion of the Azusa dump will lead to even more polluted water for the San Gabriel Valley, where contamination has been detected in about 88 of 400 water wells.
The board voted 4 to 3 to approve the Azusa Land Reclamation Co.’s plan to expand in stages its 80-acre disposal area to 302 acres. Under the plan, the landfill must encase all areas used for dumping, first with a layer of plastic, then with a layer of clay.
The Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster Board, which has opposed the expansion since it was first proposed in 1986, can appeal the decision to the state Water Resources Board.
The dump, which receives about 1,500 tons of trash a day, is one of five operating landfills in the San Gabriel Valley. If the landfill had not been allowed to expand, it would be filled in about two years, officials said.
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