State to Review Permit for Lopez Canyon Landfill

The permit for the Lopez Canyon Landfill will be reviewed this spring as part of an update of dump permits around the state, a California Waste Management Board official said Monday.

Herbert Iwahiro, chief deputy detective officer for the board, said the review has nothing to do with recent problems at the dump. Last month, two workers were hospitalized when fumes escaped and the South Coast Air Quality Management District cited the dump for odors and an illegal excavation.

But Iwahiro said the review will provide an opportunity for the state to scrutinize any operation problems that may have led to those violations.

“If there is something that does not comport with the permit, then they’ve got to stop doing that,” he said.

If any major changes need to be made in the permit, an environmental impact report and a series of public hearings will be required.

However, Iwahiro said that probably would not be necessary.

State Criticized

At a morning news conference, Citizens United for Safe Trash Management accused the state of preparing to allow the city to write its own “permit wish list,” then accepting the list without public input.

“That’s not the way to deal with a serious mismanagement problem. . . . It’s a crazy way to go about it,” said Rob Zapple, member of the Kagel Canyon Civic Assn.

By law, permit reviews are supposed to take place every five years, but Iwahiro said an analysis completed a year ago by the Waste Management Board showed that many dumps, including Lopez Canyon, had not been thoroughly reviewed for up to a decade.

One major difference between the existing permit and actual landfill operations is the volume of trash being dumped. The permit calls for about 8,000 tons per month, while the city Bureau of Sanitation says it dumps about 4,000 tons per day there.

Iwahiro said the board believes the original total may have been a misprint that should be revised.

“We all agree that that is an error . . . no way can we come up with that being correct,” he said.