Pierce Officials Deny Infertile Soil Dumped at Farm Illegally

A group of San Fernando Valley conservationists and animal lovers complained Friday that infertile soil laden with refuse and debris is being dumped on pastures at the Pierce College Farm, and accused college officials of approving the dumping.

College officials denied the charge.

Loretta Kemsley, president of the Friends of Pierce College Farm, said the dumping of concrete, subsoil and trash has been going on since 1987. Some of the dumping has been illegal, she said, adding that she saw a steady stream of trucks dump subsoil--thickly compacted soil in which plants have difficulty taking root--and refuse on the site Aug. 18.

“We’re determined to stop this,” said Kemsley, who said she has been coming to the Woodland Hills farm for years to ride horses.

Kemsley’s daughter, Kim, said developers were being allowed and even encouraged by school authorities to bring in subsoil from excavation sites. “What they’re doing is really detrimental to the whole agricultural program there,” she said.

College President David Means denied charges that the school allowed illegal dumping or deposits of inadequate soil.

Latest Incident Legal

“There have been instances where people have sneaked onto the property and dumped things, but this latest incident they’re talking about was not illegal,” Means said.

“There was an excavation being done at that time, and the manager of the farm gave the developer permission to dump dirt on the low level of the pasture where floods have hit” to raise the ground level and prevent future flooding, he said.

He said other developers have been given permission in the past to dump topsoil on the farmland. “But we just don’t accept any dirt that’s bad,” he said.

However, Martha S. Witter, a consultant with the Topanga-Las Virgenes Resource Conservation District, said soil recently dumped on the farm’s pastures contained a large amount of debris such as concrete and steel.

“It’s obviously a lower quality than what was there before,” Witter said. “The soil is not worth much.”