Expansion of Lancaster Dump Backed

State water officials Friday gave permission to the operator of a nearly filled Antelope Valley dump to double the height of its piled garbage, a move expected to extend the facility’s life span to the late 1990s.

The Lancaster Landfill operated by Waste Management of California Inc., now limited to about 40 feet above the surrounding terrain, would be able to rise to about 78 feet under a new permit from the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Water board officials meeting in Barstow approved the expansion even though the unlined landfill has a ground water pollution problem that includes several suspected carcinogens, including trichloroethylene perchloroethylene, and vinyl chloride.

State officials maintain the expansion will not worsen that problem. Doug Corcoran, general manager of the landfill, said water board officials within several months are likely to approve a ground water cleanup plan that will require the pumping and cleaning of the water--a process Corcoran said will take years.

The 100-acre landfill serves as the main disposal site for refuse from Lancaster and surrounding areas. The expansion will allow space for another 857,000 tons of garbage on top of the already permitted 1.4 million-ton capacity, officials said.

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission approved the expansion in late October. But it still requires approval from the California Integrated Waste Management Board before becoming final. That decision is expected in March or April, Corcoran said.

The landfill later this year also is expecting approval from the South Coast Air Quality Management District for a system to collect and burn its gases.

Waste Management, which acquired the landfill in 1973, is a subsidiary of the nation’s largest waste company.

The company also operated Bradley West Landfill in Sun Valley, the Simi Valley Landfill and various other facilities.