Court Rejects Effort to Close Landfill

The state Court of Appeal has rebuffed an attempt by the cities of Fillmore and Santa Paula to close the Toland Road Landfill, saying that shutting the dump between the two communities would cause more harm than keeping it open.

The ruling Wednesday by the three-judge panel upheld a decision last year to deny an injunction the cities had sought to close the landfill.

“We weren’t surprised,” said Ventura attorney Katherine Stone.

“This isn’t the end of the case; it’s just a denial of a preliminary injunction.”

A lawsuit filed by the cities, an opposition group and a local school district remains alive.

In addition, Stone could petition the state Supreme Court to hear her argument on why the landfill should be closed, but such petitions are rarely granted, she said.

The appeals court said that the trial court had not erred when it made its decision last year and that the county had followed the correct administrative procedure in allowing the dump to open.

“The Board of Supervisors made an informed decision on which reasonable minds may differ,” the court said.

In addition, forcing western Ventura County cities to truck the 1,300 tons a day the landfill receives to a Simi Valley dump would increase traffic congestion and worsen air quality, the panel said.

The Simi Valley Landfill does not place the kinds of restrictions on truck traffic that Toland does, the judges noted.

The costs associated with Toland’s closure would exceed $100,000 a month, the appeals court said.