El Monte : City Wants Say in Landfill

State Assemblywoman Hilda L. Solis may propose legislation to give El Monte a say in whether a quarry in Arcadia becomes a landfill.

Solis (D-El Monte) said the state environmental law should be modified to give El Monte at least equal say on the proposal. Because the landfill is in Arcadia, that city can decide whether an operating permit should be granted. El Monte has no input.

Solis, chairwoman of the Select Committee on Groundwater and Landfill Leakage, presided over a special hearing Friday on the landfill plan in El Monte.

Rodeffer Investments Inc. wants to turn the quarry at 12321 Lower Azusa Road into a dump for dirt, gravel and concrete. Neither Rodeffer nor Arcadia officials attended the meeting.

Although the quarry is in Arcadia, residents of Norwood Village in El Monte are closer to it than any Arcadia residents. El Monte residents oppose the landfill plan, saying it would reduce their property values, threaten ground-water supplies and create noise.