Planners OK Expansion of Chiquita Canyon Dump

In an expected decision, the county’s planning board Wednesday approved expansion of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill near Val Verde.

The unanimous decision by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission allows Laidlaw Waste Systems Inc. to operate the landfill for an additional 10 years. The firm will be permitted to receive 5,000 tons of garbage each day, and increase its total capacity to 18.2 million tons.

Dump opponents said they will appeal the commission’s vote to the county Board of Supervisors.

“I’m very disappointed,” said Merry Farmer, chairwoman of Citizens Against the Chiquita Canyon Landfill Expansion. “The whole community is disappointed.”

Opponents of the expansion complained that Wednesday’s meeting was over too quickly, with many people denied a chance to offer either evidence or offers because they arrived too late.

County officials changed the hearing time to accommodate a hearing on the proposed expansion of Soka University, which was also on the commission’s agenda.

While opponents say they do not expect supervisors to reverse the Planning Commission’s decision, they hope the board imposes additional conditions, such as a prohibition against the receipt of sludge from sewage treatment plants.

The expansion plan approved by the commission was significantly smaller than the original plan submitted by Laidlaw. The waste company had sought approval to receive 10,000 tons of garbage each day, and to expand the landfill’s capacity to 29.5 million tons.

The city of Santa Clarita, a neighbor of the landfill, must decide whether to join in an appeal of the dump expansion, said Lynn Harris, Santa Clarita’s deputy city manager for public works.

The city, as well as environmental groups, has been criticized for not opposing the Chiquita Canyon expansion as actively as it has fought the proposed Elsmere Canyon dump, also planned near Santa Clarita.

But Harris said the city was not aware of the full impact of the Chiquita Canyon dump until city leaders studied the environmental impact report for the project this spring.

Laidlaw officials did not return calls for comment Wednesday.