Report Mixed on Proposed Landfill’s Impact : Elsmere Canyon: Draft backs Santa Clarita’s claims of harm to wildlife but says dump would not be a threat to the water supply or property values.

A 190-million-ton landfill would destroy much of Elsmere Canyon’s natural features, but wouldn’t pose the health threats or economic setbacks to local residents that critics have suggested, according to its draft environmental impact report.

The document comes more than seven years after BKK Corp. first proposed a garbage dump east of where San Fernando Road crosses the Antelope Valley Freeway and is expected to fuel claims of both the project’s supporters and detractors.

Indeed, the report contained contrary recommendations from the two agencies that prepared it. Although the report basically spells out the pros and cons of the project, it does not recommend specific action, leaving that to elected officials.

But the U.S. Forest Service, which prepared the report with the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Department, advised against placing a landfill in Elsmere Canyon. The regional planners said a landfill was acceptable, but recommended a scaled-down version of the BKK proposal.

BKK has proposed a facility that would receive up to 16,500 tons of waste and recyclables a day and operate for 32 to 50 years.

The report reinforces longtime concerns of Santa Clarita officials, the project’s most vocal opponents, that a dump would remove existing wildlife corridors, destroy more than 3,000 oak trees and add more traffic and noise to the area.

Yet it contradicts city claims that a dump could harm the underground water supply, would be vulnerable to earthquakes or would cause property values to drop.

The report, which is five inches thick and includes another five inches worth of explanatory tables, held few surprises for either the landfill’s developer or its critics.

“We’re really happy with the document,” said Ken Kazarian, president of BKK. “My feeling is the issues that are deemed significant would be significant for any project.”

“I think some of the (city concerns) they’ve confirmed and recognized,” said Jeff Kolin, Santa Clarita deputy city manager. “Somewhat as we expected, this report also whitewashes impacts we think are important.”

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Notably, the report says that the landfill’s design requirements and the geologic configuration of Santa Clarita’s underground water supply make contamination from the landfill unlikely. It also downplays seismic concerns, saying the dump’s disposal area is to be located on bedrock and the site showed no ill effects from the Northridge earthquake.

“The issues that have made the headlines and Santa Clarita has spent all of its money on brochures (to publicize), all those key issues aren’t really considered important issues,” Kazarian said.

Santa Clarita officials disagree.

“I have even more concerns about geology, since the earthquake, than I did before,” City Manager George Caravalho said. “If it can impact the concrete and steel structures of the freeway there, why isn’t it going to impact the soil?”

The draft environmental impact report is an early step in the review process for the dump. Written comments from the public will be accepted through April 28, and hearings will be scheduled to further discuss the proposal. Ultimately, the landfill must receive approvals from the U.S. Forest Service and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. It also will require permits from other state environmental agencies.

BKK hopes to build part of the 720-acre landfill on land currently in Angeles National Forest and has proposed a land swap with the federal agency. The swap would allow BKK to take over a portion of public land, in exchange for private property of equal financial and aesthetic value.

Last month, Forest Service officials said they opposed the swap. Kazarian said at the time that the landfill could be built even if the swap failed because engineers could redesign the project.

As far as the scaled-down design recommended by county planners, it calls for a landfill that would accept 10,000 tons of waste and recyclables per day and close in 32 years.

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So far, the only thing supporters and detractors agree upon is that the review process--and debates--are far from over.

“We will have more people poring over these pages than any document ever produced,” said Caravalho.

“The city says they have a competent group of people who will be reviewing this,” Kazarian said. “If indeed they are competent and sophisticated, they will come back and say these (concerns) are not significant.”