Don’t Dump the Fight

Even if, as many in the northern reaches of the San Fernando Valley believe, the expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill is a done deal, residents should not simply resign themselves to living next door to a garbage dump. That may be the reality, but organized and persistent residents of Granada Hills have fought to minimize the dump’s negative effects on their neighborhoods. They should continue. A vocal and involved citizenry is the best check against corporate interests running roughshod over legitimate environmental concerns.

Last month, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission approved a proposal by Browning-Ferris Industries to expand the Sunshine Canyon dump onto 494 acres inside the city limits. The company would be permitted to bury 55 million tons of garbage over the next 26 years. Since 1996, Browning-Ferris has operated a 215-acre dump on adjacent land in Los Angeles County, with permission to dump 6,000 tons of trash per day. The planning commission’s recent approval of the dump’s expansion was supported in part by a staff report that predicted it would have little negative effect on the surrounding community.

Residents whose homes lie within half a mile of the dump’s boundary understandably find that prediction a little hard to believe. To be sure, Browning-Ferris runs a tight operation in Sunshine Canyon. But a dump is a dump--there’s simply no way around that. Neighbors correctly assert that their vigilance over the years has kept Browning-Ferris in check. In fact, in 1991, Granada Hills residents persuaded the city to shut down Sunshine Canyon by not renewing its operating permit. As the City Council prepares to decide whether to uphold the planning commission decision, neighbors should continue agitating to ensure that the environmental protections promised by Browning-Ferris are implemented and maintained. And if they can wring further concessions from the dump, they should try.

In approving the dump expansion, the planning commission tacked on roughly 200 conditions--everything from a 100-acre buffer zone between the dump and nearby homes to a $3-million security bond in case Browning-Ferris fails to live up to its promises. Despite the conditions, City Councilman Hal Bernson opposes the dump and supports alternative technologies for disposing of Southern California’s garbage. Ideas such as incineration deserve a look, but the city needs a place to put its trash today.

Landfills are not popular. No one wants them, but everybody needs them. Citizen activists who felt let down by the planning commission’s decision--and resigned to the dump’s expansion--should nonetheless continue to press their point before the City Council. And keep the fight going after the vote. Browning-Ferris has demonstrated that it is as good a neighbor as a garbage dump can be. But that is no doubt because it had to be.