Regional : Water Basin Dumps Capped
Gov. George Deukmejian on Monday announced that he has signed a bill to prohibit new landfills being developed in the contaminated San Gabriel Valley Water Basin.
The measure, by Assemblywoman Sally Tanner (D-Baldwin Park), would block expansion of existing garbage dumps or new landfills in at least 12 large gravel pits along the San Gabriel River.
Initially, the bill also would have blocked a proposed increase in the size of the Azusa Land Reclamation Co. landfill, but a Senate committee exempted it from the legislation.
Tanner said in a press release that the law “will ensure that the many San Gabriel Valley gravel and sand pits, which are extremely porous, will not be used as garbage dumps which can leak chemical contaminants and polluting leachate into the ground water.”
The state Water Resources Control Board next Tuesday is scheduled to reconsider an application to expand the Azusa Landfill. Last month, the panel turned down a staff recommendation to allow the expansion. But the board asked the dump owner and water agencies that oppose the expansion to attempt to reach a compromise.
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