COUNTYWIDE : City Protests Plan to Ship Trash by Rail

The Fillmore City Council is protesting a proposal to ship trash by rail to the east county, fearing that a canyon near the city might be targeted.

During a meeting Tuesday, council members decided to write a letter expressing Fillmore’s disapproval of the plan to Ventura County Supervisor Maria VanderKolk.

VanderKolk unveiled a plan Monday to consolidate waste management agencies in the county and ship trash by rail to an unspecified site.

“We need to take this very seriously,” Councilman Roger Campbell said.

The plan was originally proposed last year by VanderKolk’s administrative assistant, Russ Baggerly, former head of an Ojai environmental group.

Although no site has been specified for a new countywide landfill, Fillmore council members were concerned that Hopper Canyon, about five miles east of the city, would be considered.

“I’m not supporting Hopper Canyon as a site,” Baggerly said.

However, he said that when he formulated the plan last year, he considered the canyon when searching for a remote spot to locate the landfill.

“Hopper is close enough to the rail and away from a major population center,” he said.

Fillmore council members pointed out that the east Santa Clara River Valley already has a landfill at Toland Road and was chosen to house the new county jail.

“Dumping on Fillmore and Piru has got to be stopped,” Councilman Mike McMahan said.

VanderKolk could not be reached for comment.