Countywide : Expansion of Olinda Landfill Is on Agenda

The county Waste Management Commission will consider proposals today to expand the Olinda Canyon landfill in Brea and to acquire one of six other possible landfill sites in north Orange County.

The commission will be discussing a report that concludes that an expansion of the Olinda landfill is the county’s best short-term option for disposing of solid wastes, but adds that the county should consider acquiring another large canyon as a long-term landfill.

If the Olinda landfill is not expanded, it will be filled in six years, said Barbara R. Shelton, a senior planner in the County Environmental Management Agency. Another north county landfill, Santiago Canyon east of Orange, already is scheduled to close at the end of 1990, she said. Expanding the Olinda landfill would extend its capacity another 27 years, Shelton said.

A consultant’s report identified other possible sites for a landfill as West Fremont Canyon, Blind Canyon, a canyon north of Irvine Park, Gypsum Canyon, Coal Canyon and East Fremont Canyon. Copies of the report are available at city halls and libraries in Brea, Fullerton, Irvine, La Habra, Orange, Placentia, Tustin, Villa Park and Yorba Linda.

The Waste Management Commission will meet at 2 p.m. in the second floor voter registration classroom at 1300 S. Grand Ave., Santa Ana. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the matter July 18, with a Board of Supervisors vote scheduled for Aug. 16.