Study Urges Reduction in Planned Size of Landfill : Weldon Canyon: The limit would lessen the impact on nearby residents and wildlife, but would cut the dump’s life from 38 to 27 years.

A landfill proposed for Weldon Canyon should be reduced in size by 68% to ease the impact on neighbors and wildlife, according to an environmental study released Thursday.

The recommendation to limit the landfill to the north side of the scenic canyon would cut the life of the dump from 38 years to 27 years, the study said.

Despite the suggestion to limit the landfill’s size, the long-awaited report on the effects of the proposed 551-acre landfill at Weldon Canyon was received warmly by officials at Waste Management of North America, which hopes to open the dump by 1992.

“It provides no adverse concerns for us,” said James Jevens, project manager for Waste Management. “We view it as a very positive starting point.”

Ojai Mayor Nina Shelley, a longtime critic of the Weldon Canyon site, said she had not read the study but continues to fear that the proposed dump will create pollution that would drift into the Ojai Valley.

The canyon lies between Ventura and Ojai, east of California 33 and north of Canada Larga Road. It was identified by a 1985 county study as the best of 38 possible sites for a new landfill because of its clay soil and proximity to the cities of the western county.

The county’s Resource Management Agency drafted the environmental impact study, a summary of which was released Thursday. The study is required before the county can issue Waste Management the permits to operate the landfill.

Although the study suggested reducing the landfill size to minimize the impact on the environment, it does not dismiss the possibility of expansion in the future, as waste disposal technology improves.

The reduction would lower the refuse capacity at the dump from 59.2 million cubic yards to 19.9 million cubic yards, the study said.

Limiting refuse to the northern part of the canyon would move the southern edge of the dump about 800 yards farther from Canada Larga Road and a 270-home residential tract called Valley Vista.

The Weldon Canyon landfill would replace Oxnard’s Bailard dump, which is scheduled to close in late 1993. Ventura Regional Sanitation District, which operates Bailard and another landfill near Fillmore, has applied for an extension to operate the Oxnard dump until 1995.

The $1-million study considered the effect of operating the Weldon Canyon landfill and the Bailard dump simultaneously but concluded that this alternative would only extend the life of the Bailard dump until 1999.

“Thus, simultaneous operation of both landfills would be only a short-term situation and would not significantly change the long-term environmental impacts of the Weldon Canyon landfill,” the report said.

The study also considered opening a landfill in Hammond Canyon, which is about three miles northeast of Weldon Canyon.

While a dump on either site would affect wildlife habitat and air quality, the study said a landfill at Hammond Canyon would require greater mitigation measures.

“In addition, Hammond would create a significant unavoidable impact” to a wooded area of oak and walnut trees, which would not occur at Weldon Canyon, the study said.

The study also recommended, among other measures, that Waste Management create a 2,000-foot land buffer around the landfill, implement a system to recover gas generated by the waste and develop an on-site transfer station to remove recyclables from the waste being dumped.

Another suggestion was that the dump eventually accept only trash from central processing centers. That would reduce the number of vehicles traveling to the landfill by about 70% to 85%.

“Most impacts are considered to create less-than-significant impacts with the implementation of . . . mitigation measures,” the report said.

Jevens said he was not surprised by the recommended mitigation measures. “I didn’t go through the roof on any of them,” he said.

Kay Martin, manager of the county’s Solid Waste Management Department, said the study gave a generally positive review of the proposed dump in Weldon Canyon and revealed few surprises.

“The type of impacts that site has are common to that type of canyon,” she said.

Martin said she supports the recommendation to limit the size of the landfill. “I certainly agree that it’s a preferred alternative to the full project,” she said.

County Supervisors Susan K. Lacey and Maria K. VanderKolk had not read the entire study and declined to comment on the matter.

WHAT’S NEXT Three hearings are scheduled for February, March and April to allow public comment on the environmental study and project. The first, on agricultural impacts, will be at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 20 at the Administration Building at the County Government Center. After the hearings, a final environmental report will be prepared to address issues raised in the hearings. The final study will then be considered by the Ventura County Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors in public meetings. The Board of Supervisors will make the final determination on the project.