Report Backs Expansion of Landfill : Cost of Enlarging Sunshine Canyon Includes Loss of 8,000 Oaks

Sunshine Canyon Landfill must be enlarged to meet the growing shortage of dump space in Los Angeles County, even though the expansion would intrude on a proposed state park and kill thousands of oak trees that environmentalists want preserved, according to an environmental impact report.

The expansion proposed by Browning-Ferris Industries, the owner of Sunshine Canyon, would destroy about 8,000 oak trees in the woodlands north and west of the landfill’s present boundaries. Some of the land is being eyed by environmental groups as part of the Santa Clarita Woodlands State Park they are asking the Legislature to create.

The report said the destruction of the oaks was the only irreversible, adverse environmental effect of expanding the dump.

Browning-Ferris wants to expand the 230-acre dump above Granada Hills by 706 acres, most of those in unincorporated county territory.

Sunshine Canyon currently accepts about 6,400 tons of trash per day, or about 15% of all refuse in Los Angeles County. The expansion would permit the dump to take 12,000 to 14,000 tons per day and would extend its life “well into the 21st Century,” the report said.

Bitter Opposition

The expansion proposal has been bitterly opposed by a Granada Hills residents group. But the draft environmental impact report released by county planners last week unequivocally maintains that failure to expand the dump “would place a severe constraint on the solid waste disposal system in the county.” The report, required by state environmental law, was prepared by Ultrasystems, an Irvine consulting firm contracted by Browning-Ferris.

Expansion of Sunshine Canyon and the continued operation of existing landfills in the county “will be necessary,” the report said, “to avoid a countywide waste shortfall by September of 1991.”

The report also suggested strongly that nearby Elsmere Canyon is not suited for use as a landfill. Elsmere Canyon has been promoted by city and county officials--as well as opponents to the expansion of Sunshine Canyon--as a prime dump site and an alternative to expanding Sunshine Canyon.

The report said Elsmere Canyon could be unsuitable for a dump for several technical reasons, including the permeability of its underlying soil and its susceptibility to landslides and earthquakes.

BKK Corp., a Torrance-based refuse firm, hopes to open a commercial landfill in Elsmere Canyon by 1991. BKK is drafting an environmental impact report on the project, and company officials say they could ask county officials for operating permits early next year. The landfill, with a projected 50-year life span, would be two miles northeast of the Golden State--Antelope Valley Freeway interchange.

BKK President Kenneth B. Kazarian has called Elsmere a prime location for a landfill.

Elsmere Site Disputed

In the first volume, the environmental report on Sunshine Canyon said Browning-Ferris considered Elsmere Canyon as a dump site several years ago but concluded that putting a landfill there was “unfeasible.” But later in the report, after county Department of Public Works officials disputed that conclusion, the report toned down its criticism of Elsmere. The report said it considered Elsmere “less desirable” than Sunshine.

Of the 706 acres proposed for expansion, 542 are in the county and 164 are in the city. Although Browning-Ferris’ current proposal concerns the county area only--a separate approval would have to be obtained from city officials--the environmental report considered the effect of expanding into all 706 acres.

A Granada Hills residents group calling itself the North Valley Coalition has complained bitterly for years that dust and debris from the landfill blow into their nearby neighborhoods. The expansion would be toward the northwest, away from the homes.

Sought to Close

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson has sought to close the dump. Although a city zoning panel ruled that the landfill’s primary dumping area should be closed at the end of this year, the Los Angeles City Council agreed last week to a six-month delay. Some Granada Hills residents said the delay was a boost to Browning-Ferris’ plans to expand the dump into county territory.

The City Council agreed to the six-month extension at Sunshine Canyon after the state took steps to restrict the amount of trash the city can truck to Lopez Canyon Landfill near Lake View Terrace.

The draft environmental impact report, which is open to revision and public comment, consists of three thick volumes of text, charts, maps and appendixes. It is available for review at the San Fernando Library, the Los Angeles Central Library and branch city libraries in Granada Hills and Sylmar.

A public hearing will be held on the proposal. The hearing has yet to be scheduled but is expected to be in November, according to the county Department of Regional Planning.