Contract Awarded to Convert Landfill Gas

Methane gas emitted by the Lopez Canyon Landfill could be converted into electricity by the end of the year under a contract awarded Tuesday by the Los Angeles City Council.

The council voted unanimously to allow Lopez Canyon Energy Partners, a private company, to capture the gas at the Lake View Terrace dump and use it to power electricity generators.

Currently, the city’s Bureau of Sanitation burns off the methane, a highly volatile gas.

The contract will reap the city between $344,000 and $700,000 a year, depending on the output and sale of the electricity.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose district includes the landfill, welcomed the decision, saying the city’s failure to move more quickly on the proposal had already cost $2 million in lost revenue over the years.

But Alarcon’s proposal to set aside the money from the contract to help fund a Hansen Dam “environmental awareness center” and to lease new facilities for police was referred to the council’s budget and finance committee.

City Administrative Officer Keith Comrie has recommended that the revenue instead be allocated for shutting down and cleaning up the controversial landfill, which is scheduled to close July 1.

Other public and private dumps already collect waste-related gases through networks of pipes rather than burning them off.

The city has considered doing so at Lopez Canyon and selling the fumes for eight or nine years but waited until it could be certain of turning a profit, officials said.