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Landfill Site Proposed for East County

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

A 600-acre parcel in Alamos Canyon five miles north of Simi Valley has been proposed as the site of a future landfill for eastern Ventura County, officials said Friday.

Santa Monica-based Watt Industries Inc., which owns the canyon land, met with east county officials at Simi Valley City Hall Thursday to discuss its proposal to turn the property into a landfill for the burgeoning cities of Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Moorpark.

“If it happens, and I certainly hope it does, it will be state of the art,” said Simi Valley Councilman Bill Davis, the city’s representative on a special east county task force studying future landfill locations. “It’s the best site I’ve seen.”

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Other members of the task force who attended Thursday’s meeting were Ventura County supervisors Vicky Howard and Maria VanderKolk, Thousand Oaks Mayor Alex Fiore and Moorpark Councilman John Wozniak.

Davis said the proposed trash dump would be able to handle 99 million tons of trash over its 100-year life.

He said he would like to see the new landfill in operation within the next five years so the county could shut down the Simi Valley Landfill, located at the northwest end of the city.

Although the Simi Valley Landfill has a permit to operate until the year 2004, city officials have long been concerned about its proximity to the Simi Valley Freeway and to the city itself. The 247-acre dump, owned and operated by Waste Management of California Inc., is located just north of the freeway and west of Madera Road.

Glen Gessford, an official with Alamos Canyon Development Co., a subsidiary of Watt, said his firm has been working for the past year on its proposal for a landfill on its property. But Gessford said he did not want to comment further on the project because many questions remain to be answered, particularly those regarding the environmental impact to the surrounding area and a need for access roads to the site.

Indeed, local environmentalist John Etter said he is strongly opposed to a landfill in Alamos Canyon because of the effect it would have on a wildlife corridor located near the dump site.

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There is a running creek nearby, he said, lined by oak and sycamore trees--a spot frequented by golden eagles, deer and other animals.

“It’s a nice, peaceful spot,” he said. “I’m afraid that if there are problems with the landfill, they are going to destroy the area. And I don’t care how many precautions they take. There are always going to be accidents.”

Howard said she felt uncomfortable commenting on the landfill proposal because it is still in the preliminary stages, but she is concerned with access to the remote site.

“I have a lot of concerns,” she said. “It’s a highly visible canyon, a very beautiful canyon. When I look at it I have to ask myself: Do I really want to see garbage trucks going up and down the canyon?”

Davis said he is convinced that an acceptable access road could be built. As for the environmental concerns, he said there is always going to be disagreement on this issue.

“No matter where you put a landfill, you are going to do some damage to the environment,” he said. “There is no perfect site. But the trash is going to continue to be generated. It’s got to go someplace.

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“And when you look at all the concerns there are, I don’t think you’d find a better site than this.”

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