City Joins Pact for Use of Simi Landfill

Backing away from a long-stated policy, the Moorpark City Council has signed off on a plan that would allow trash from western Ventura County to be dumped at the Simi Valley Landfill.

For years, city leaders have opposed importing trash to the landfill, fearing that it would increase truck traffic in Moorpark and shorten the life of the dump.

But with the promise of reduced dumping rates, council members agreed Wednesday to sign a pact delivering all the city’s trash to the nearby landfill and allowing garbage to come in from Camarillo and Ventura, as well as all unincorporated areas of western Ventura County once Bailard Landfill in Oxnard closes this summer.

Five cities and parts of the county are being asked to approve the agreement by March 1. Only Moorpark and Simi Valley have signed up so far.

The pact would also extend the Simi Valley Landfill’s life span by limiting daily dumping there to 2,250 tons, with no more than 200 tons of trash a day coming from outside the county. The landfill could stay open about 10 more years to the year 2013, officials said.

If an agreement is eventually reached by all the parties, the landfill operators said they would reduce the $39.95 per ton dumping fee by $10.

“That could provide a substantial savings for rate payers,” Mayor Paul Lawrason said.

Although the plan guarantees that most of the trash trucks headed to the landfill are routed around Moorpark, Lawrason said he is concerned by the number of trucks from Camarillo that will cut through Moorpark.

“We still have to work that out with Camarillo,” he said.