County Expected to Approve Landfill Expansion : Waste: Brea-Olinda facility will grow while supervisors decide among three canyons for new North County dump site.

Seeking to rid North County of about 2 million tons of solid waste a year, the County Board of Supervisors next week is expected to approve the expansion of the Brea-Olinda landfill under a plan released Thursday.

It is estimated that the existing two landfills in the North County now have less than seven years of life between them.

Under the plan, the Board of Supervisors would direct a 60-day review of three new area canyon sites that are now considered prime candidates for long-term landfill needs.

The canyons are East Blind, West Fremont and Gypsum--the last of which was ruled out last year as the site of a new county jail. County officials estimate that in any case it would cost tens of millions of dollars--perhaps as much as $101 million--to acquire the land, develop the site, build access roads and convert the area to a landfill.

The county’s Waste Management Commission has recommended buying the Gypsum Canyon land and saving it until it may be needed for a landfill. But county supervisors are expected to hold off until March for a decision on the issue, while also instructing staff to study alternative technologies for waste disposal--such as increased recycling and other measures.

But the most contentious point in the North County garbage debate has been the proposed expansion of the Brea-Olinda landfill, in the northeast tip of the county.

The Board of Supervisors at its meeting next Tuesday will consider--and likely approve--a plan to elevate and expand the landfill, extending its life through 2020.

The city of Brea and many of its residents have consistently opposed such an idea, but last month the City Council approved a memorandum of understanding allowing the county to move ahead with the expansion.

Brea Mayor Ron Isles said of the debate on the council: “We’ve talked about it and we seem to be of one mind--we wish that the landfill would go away. Obviously, it’s a potentially dangerous situation. . . .”

But rather than jumping through “legal hoops” and wasting precious money in court trying to fight the county, Isles said the city has been negotiating over the last two years to win compromises on the landfill’s use.

The agreement that will be considered Tuesday by the county includes a range of provisions sought by Brea on landscaping, access, hours and type of operations and limits on volume at the landfill.

“You can’t say we’re happy with this (agreement) but we got as much out of it as we could,” Isles said.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, whose district includes the Brea-Olinda landfill, said the agreement marks “a culmination of months and months of discussion.”