2 Supervisors Are Headed for Clash Over Dump Policy

A debate is brewing between Ventura County Supervisors Susan Lacey and Maggie Erickson Kildee over where to build the next landfill for the county’s five western cities.

It began when Lacey suggested a break from a longtime county policy in a letter she sent to board members last month. She proposed that they consider locating future landfills for the western cities outside the western part of the county.

The issue was raised because Waste Management of North America Inc. has asked the county’s permission to operate a landfill in Weldon Canyon, between Ojai and Ventura in the heart of Lacey’s supervisorial district.

The Board of Supervisors will consider the matter sometime this fall.

Erickson Kildee responded to Lacey’s suggestion with her own letter last week, saying the proposal would violate a policy that requires landfills to be located near the cities where the garbage is generated.

For more than 20 years, the county has been divided into three landfill areas: the western area, serving the cities of Ojai, Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme and Camarillo; the central area, serving Santa Paula, Fillmore and Piru; and the eastern area, serving Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Oak Park.

Erickson Kildee said the policy ensures that each area will take care of its own waste problems. It also cuts down on the costs and negative environmental impacts of hauling waste because it reduces the distances traveled by garbage trucks, she said.

While Erickson Kildee said she and Lacey seem headed for a clash on the matter, she said she hopes the dispute can be resolved peacefully.

Erickson Kildee said her disagreement with Lacey does not mean she supports a landfill in Weldon Canyon.

“I’m not pushing for Weldon, but I’m not pushing for dumping the western waste in the Santa Clara Valley,” she said, referring to a mostly unpopulated area in the east part of the county.

In 1985, a two-year study by the county picked Weldon Canyon as the top choice among 38 potential landfill sites in the western area. The dump would replace the Bailard Landfill in Oxnard, which is scheduled to close in 1993.

However, environmentalists in Ojai strongly oppose the Weldon Canyon site because they worry that air pollution from the dump would drift into their city.

“This site is too close to an established community,” said Pat Baggerly, a member of the Environmental Coalition of Ventura County. “Any person with common sense can see that.”

Lacey argues that state legislation will require more recycling efforts and thus result in fewer trips by garbage haulers. Because of that, she suggests that the county re-evaluate its policy of locating landfills only in the areas they serve.

Lacey and Erickson Kildee are not alone in voicing strong opinions on the issue.

In April, Supervisor Maria VanderKolk, who represents Thousand Oaks and Port Hueneme, unveiled a plan to haul trash from western Ventura County by rail to an unspecified site in the east county.

A similar proposal was made last year by VanderKolk’s top aide, Russ Baggerly, a former environmental activist in the Ojai Valley.

Russ Baggerly, who is married to Pat Baggerly, proposed hauling waste by rail to a site near Piru as an alternative to a dump in Weldon Canyon near his home in Meiners Oaks.

VanderKolk’s plan was criticized by city officials from Fillmore and Simi Valley who expressed fear that the VanderKolk plan would put a dump in the Santa Clara Valley.

Supervisor John K. Flynn, whose district includes the Bailard Landfill, said he disagrees with proposals to consider landfill sites outside the western county area.

He said the Board of Supervisors should first consider the Weldon Canyon proposal before debating alternative sites. However, he said the alternatives should be confined to sites within western Ventura County.

Supervisor Vicky Howard, who represents Simi Valley, could not be reached for comment. However, in the past she has not voiced an opinion on the issue.