Toland Dump Expansion Less Damaging, Study Says

Expanding Toland Road Landfill near Santa Paula to handle all the trash from west Ventura County would significantly increase air pollution and worsen traffic and noise levels in an area that already exceeds county standards, according to a new study.

But the draft environmental impact report commissioned by the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, which operates the landfill, concluded that the expansion would do less environmental damage than other disposal options. These include shipping more than half a million tons of waste annually to landfills in Simi Valley or nearby Los Angeles County.

“We’re pleased to death with the report,” said Clint Whitney, manager of the sanitation district. “It turned out better than we thought it would. This really is the best environmental option.”

The district is seeking an expansion of the the 53-acre dump so it can handle all west Ventura County trash after Bailard Landfill in Oxnard closes next year. The expansion would enable Toland, which now accepts 130 tons of trash a day from Santa Paula and Fillmore, to receive up to 1,500 tons of trash daily.

But the 800-page environmental report, which cost the district $790,000, reinforced the concerns of some district board members who represent cities adjacent to the Toland Road dump. Four of the district’s nine board members voted against conducting the environmental study.

Santa Paula Councilman Al Urias told his colleagues on the panel that the Santa Clara Valley would receive the brunt of the increased air pollution, traffic and noise from the enlarged dump.

“This is why you’re getting opposition from Santa Paula and Fillmore because you’re going to be transferring [emissions] into the Santa Clara Valley,” Urias said.

According to the environmental report, the expanded dump would increase nitrogen oxide emissions in the area by 173 pounds a day. The county, already in violation of state and federal clean-air standards, considers the release of anything over 25 pounds a day as significant.

But Whitney pointed out that the report also found that shipping the 1,500 pounds of trash by truck to landfills in Simi Valley or Los Angeles County would result in substantially higher emissions, because of the longer distance they would have to travel.

Moreover, if west county cities decide to ship their trash to Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Los Angeles County, garbage trucks would still pass through Santa Paula and Fillmore on California 126, he said.

“The trucks would go through their cities spewing out air pollution in more amounts than if they just went to Toland,” Whitney said.

Although the environmental report concluded that the expanded landfill would not in itself generate a significant amount of traffic, Urias and Fillmore officials said California 126 is already heavily traveled and has a reputation for an unusually high number of traffic accidents.

The expanded dump would raise the number of trucks going back and forth to the landfill each day from 70 to 150 or more.

“It’s already dangerous, this is only going to add to it,” Urias said.

Ventura Councilman Gary Tuttle, another district board member who voted against the environmental study, said he was impressed with some of the study’s findings. He said he also likes the fact that Toland Road is an existing landfill.

But Tuttle stopped short of endorsing the expanded dump.

“It’s certainly looking like a possible solution,” he said. “But I don’t know yet if it’s the best solution.”

Tuttle said he still wants the opportunity to consider other disposal options, including trucking or hauling west Ventura County trash by train to other counties or even another state.

The Western Ventura County Waste Authority--which includes the cities of Ojai, Fillmore, Santa Paula and Ventura--recently asked trash haulers and landfill operators to submit disposal options for consideration. The authority has received preliminary proposals from eight firms and will review more detailed plans next month.

But Whitney said he is confident that an expanded Toland Road Landfill would not only prove to be the least environmentally damaging alternative, but the cheapest.

He estimated that the dump would be able to offer a dumping fee of between $20 and $25 a ton, less than the $33 fee now charged by Bailard. He said he believes that no other option, including a proposed dump at Weldon Canyon near Ojai, could offer such a low price.

“It’s going to be tough to beat that price,” he said. “I think it’s a deal that policy makers who are really looking after the public’s interest can’t refuse.”

The draft environmental impact report, which is available for public review at local libraries and city halls, is an early step in the review process for the expanded dump proposal. Written comments from the public will be accepted over the next 45 days, and a public meeting on the document’s findings is scheduled for Oct. 19 in Santa Paula.