Countywide : Landfill Renamed to Honor Retiree

Bee Canyon Sanitary Landfill got a name change Tuesday when the County Board of Supervisors surprised Frank R. Bowerman by renaming the facility in his honor.

Bowerman, 69, retired Tuesday as director of the county’s Integrated Waste Management Department after earning a national reputation as a pioneer in landfills and waste technology.

Bowerman said he never expected the name change.

“I feel deeply honored,” he said after Tuesday’s ceremony at the landfill, where he was presented with a commemorative plaque by Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez. “My staff really did a number on me in keeping me from noticing the plaque on the building.”

Supervisors Harriett M. Wieder and Thomas F. Riley also attended the dedication at the landfill, along with more than 100 county employees, elected officials and solid-waste contractors.

The facility is one of the most advanced landfills in the nation, Bowerman said.

“It’s really advanced state-of-the-art because it was built to conform with federal regulations that haven’t been adopted by the state yet. It was built to meet the needs of the future as well as the present,” Bowerman said.

The 750-acre landfill is in the Santa Ana mountains in an unincorporated area near Irvine. The facility opened in March, 1990, with an anticipated life of 30 years, but Bowerman said that could be expanded to possibly 50 years if recycling efforts in the county continue.

Bowerman said he plans to continue work in the industry as a private consultant.