Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Panel Will Weigh Environmental Effects of Dump

Mayor Jan Heidt will interview Santa Clarita residents June 11 for a panel to scrutinize environmental documents relating to a proposed dump in Elsmere Canyon.

The committee will include three or four citizens who will review the draft environmental report that is expected to be completed within the next six months and prepare comments for the public hearings to follow.

The city has gone on record opposing the 190-million-ton landfill in Elsmere Canyon, located southeast of the city beyond the intersection of San Fernando Road and the Antelope Valley Freeway.

Anti-dump efforts have been organized by the Santa Clarita Canyons Preservation Committee, which has attempted to garner additional support from local service clubs and business groups. Most Santa Clarita organizations have opted to wait until the environmental documents are released.

“So many people are hanging their hat on this environmental impact report, I want to make sure that everything that should be covered is covered,” Heidt said.

Some downplay the significance of the long-awaited report, saying the proposal is too profitable for the sponsor, BKK Corp., and has too much political support at the county level to be blocked by environmental concerns.

“If you’re going into this with any sense of reality, even if the EIR says this is the worst place in the world to put a dump, the Board of Supervisors is going to cite overriding public consideration,” said Lee Schramling of the preservation committee. “They ain’t going to give it up just because of our environment.”

Landfill opponents say the dump would harm local air quality, threaten the underground water supply and lead to thousands of garbage trucks driving through the Santa Clarita Valley.