LAKE VIEW TERRACE : Council May Hear Landfill Gas Plan

A plan that would allow a private partnership to siphon off methane gas from the Lopez Canyon Landfill could be ready to go to the City Council this month, according to city officials.

The proposed methane-energy plant was approved by the Los Angeles Board of Public Works last September, and sent to the city administrative office for analysis.

The methane, a byproduct of decaying trash, is percolating through the soil of the dump, which is slated to close in 1996. The malodorous gas, long the bane of area residents, is being collected and burned off. Lopez Canyon Energy Partners hopes to harness that wasted energy to generate electricity.

But the city administrative office’s approval of a lease agreement with the city had to be put on a back burner because the office is tied up preparing the city’s overall budget, said Richard Hart, principal administrative analyst for the office.

“With the budget, to be honest, it’s not on the top of my priorities,” said Hart.

In addition, the partnership changed some elements of the proposal, including its proposed lifetime and some of the equipment, said Hart. The project will extend over 30 years, instead of 20, he said.

The equipment changes, prompted by the Air Quality Management District, are aimed at improving the efficiency of the plant, said Hart.

The city administrative office wants to be sure the project can be viable and profitable because the city will buy energy from the plant, as well as collect royalties from other energy sales, said Hart.

A city Bureau of Sanitation official said the nearly four-month lag in getting the proposal before council seemed unusual, but predictable.

“Considering this is budget time and they’re putting the budget together, I can understand it,” said Mike Miller, assistant director of the bureau’s Solid Waste Department.