Landfill Manager an Asset, Not a Problem

The headline on your Dec. 10 story on the Lopez Canyon Landfill (“Embattled Landfill Manager Ousted”) is about as far from reality as possible.

John de la Rosa, in his tenure as manager of the Lopez Canyon Landfill, has been responsible for implementing and overseeing a wide variety of improvements at the facility. During his nine-year leadership, he and the landfill staff have improved operations to the point that the facility won the landfill excellence award for 1994 from the Solid Waste Assn. of North America. John’s personal commitment to make Lopez Canyon a world-class facility and his willingness to work tirelessly with his staff, his management and the community have shown him to be a leader who is respected and appreciated. John should be recognized for his many accomplishments, not disparaged by your headline-writer.

In regard to the reassignment of Mr. de la Rosa, your headline again misses the point by a wide margin. John has long been interested in becoming involved in the bureau’s efforts to make our refuse collection activities more effective and cost efficient. Based on the results he has achieved at Lopez Canyon, management determined that he would be of help in that effort, and, with his approval, had previously selected the beginning of 1995 to implement the change. John will continue to be involved with the landfill in a periodic oversight role. Describing this as any kind of “ouster” is absolutely incorrect.

John de la Rosa has been an asset to the Bureau of Sanitation and to the public he serves throughout his career as a city employee. He and the staff at Lopez Canyon Landfill have demonstrated their willingness to go the extra mile to ensure that operation of the site is in compliance with all our regulatory requirements, and in those instances where we fall short, they are the first to recognize the problems, take personal responsibility and move quickly to remedy the situation. Headlines such as the one over this story are disinformation at best and they do nothing to inform the public about the reality of either John de la Rosa or the Lopez Canyon Landfill.

DELWIN A. BIAGI

Los Angeles

Biagi is director of the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation.