Landfill Expansion Clears Hurdle : Environment: Judge will lift order barring Browning-Ferris from doing any work at Sunshine Canyon.

A judge Thursday cleared the way for expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill to resume in a wooded canyon north of Granada Hills, dealing nearby residents another setback in their efforts to stop the project.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Diane Wayne said that within 10 days, she will lift a restraining order barring dump operator Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. from felling any trees or doing any work in the canyon.

But opponents vowed to appeal the ruling, an action that could extend the stay another 20 days. In the meantime, the Los Angeles City Council will meet today to discuss dropping its objections to the dump.

Browning-Ferris was given permission in December by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to expand the now-idle landfill’s capacity by 17 million tons. When crews started ripping out trees in June, opponents sued.

Wayne ruled Thursday that the lawsuit filed by the North Valley Coalition of Concerned Citizens failed to raise any new issues. Over the past three years, the coalition has attacked the dump project on numerous legal fronts.

“It was a total and complete victory for us,” Browning-Ferris spokesman Arnie Berghoff said. “The judge showed that this case had no merits and that it was just one in a series of delaying tactics by the North Valley Coalition.”

Coalition attorney Rosemary Woodlock disagreed, saying: “BFI certainly is not out of the woods yet.” In addition to appealing Thursday’s decision, the coalition has a separate lawsuit on other issues regarding the dump pending in Sacramento.

In dismissing the coalition’s lawsuit, Wayne ruled that Browning-Ferris and Los Angeles County had complied with all state laws as the expansion project worked its way through the approval process.

Rather than lift the construction ban immediately, however, Wayne allowed 10 days for the coalition to appeal. In the past, Browning-Ferris crews have begun work at the earliest possible opportunity.

Within hours of a county oversight committee’s permission to begin construction in June, crews began work. By the end of the weekend, roughly 1,400 trees were cut down, prompting Wayne to issue her injunction.

Since the dump was first approved in 1991, the coalition has been joined in its legal challenges by the city of Los Angeles, which closed the dump in 1991. The expansion will take place on adjacent land just outside the city limits in Los Angeles County.

After running up more than $500,000 in legal bills, the City Council is considering settling with Browning-Ferris, leaving the coalition to fight the dump on its own.

*

The council will meet in closed session today to discuss a settlement proposal. Although the negotiations are secret, documents and interviews reveal that Browning-Ferris is offering the city at least $1.5 million in legal fees and community improvements to drop its objections. A county condition that city trash be excluded from the landfill would also be eliminated. In return, Browning-Ferris reportedly wants the council to grant access to the expansion along a road through the current dump site.

But Woodlock threatened that the coalition would turn around and sue its former allies if city officials enter into an agreement with Browning-Ferris that circumvents the normal city approval process--such as one that grants road access without a public hearing.

“If the city is settling the case to avoid legal costs, they need to be careful,” she said.