Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Dump Foes to Meet Tonight With Officials

Hundreds of residents worried about the effect of a major earthquake on a proposed dump in Elsmere Canyon are expected to meet with federal and county officials tonight to voice their fears.

A draft environmental impact report is being prepared on the Elsmere project, which would place a 190-million-ton dump just outside Santa Clarita, southeast of the intersection of San Fernando Road and the Antelope Valley Freeway.

The meeting is scheduled from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Ranch House Inn, 27413 N. Tourney Road. It is sponsored by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Department and will include a representative of the U. S. Forest Service.

“We will review the comments made and if they cover something new that should be covered, it will be included (in the environmental documents),” said Richard Frazier, a county regional planner.

Even without an earthquake, opponents say the dump would threaten the area’s ground water, harm air quality, disrupt surrounding wildlife and bring unwanted trash trucks into the Santa Clarita Valley.

“This is one of the rare opportunities where you get to have input into a health and safety issue that affects a lot of people,” said Pat Saletore, chairwoman of the Sierra Club’s Santa Clarita chapter. “It’s the first kind of public input we’ve had since the scoping hearings four years ago.”

Anti-dump activists have been more vocal about their environmental concerns in the wake of the 6.8-magnitude Northridge earthquake that rocked the Santa Clarita Valley. Dump foes say a large temblor could rupture a landfill’s protective liner.

“People want to know why in the world they’re siting a dump here when they know the damage an earthquake is going to do,” said Marsha McLean, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Canyons Preservation Committee, which opposes the landfill.