OJAI VALLEY : Residents Criticize Proposed Landfill
Ojai Valley residents, who cannot get permits to build new houses because of a water shortage, are raising objections to a proposed landfill in Weldon Canyon that would need thousands of gallons of water for its trash-burial operations.
Nearly 100 people went to a public hearing in Oak View Monday night to show concern about increased traffic, air pollution and water usage of a 320-acre landfill proposed by Waste Management of North America Inc. The company wants to place the landfill in Weldon Canyon five miles south of Ojai and a mile east of California 33.
After nearly four hours of questions and answers, the Ventura River Valley Municipal Advisory Council postponed a decision until April 8 on whether to recommend approval of a draft environmental impact study to the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.
The study, prepared over three years by a consulting firm, says the company received a letter from Casitas Municipal Water District in 1986 promising Lake Casitas water to the dump. But Casitas engineer Richard Barnett said that letter’s terms expired several years ago.
The company recently applied for a new letter promising water, but Barnett said that Waste Management might have to stand in line with other Casitas customers who have been waiting for water hookups required for new construction. The district banned new hookups last April after declaring the water-shortage emergency.
The Casitas board is meeting today to extend the moratorium for at least another year.
In a related matter, the Ojai City Council, which has opposed the Weldon Canyon site, heard an overview on the environmental study Tuesday night.
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