Mitigation Isn’t Enough for Sunshine Canyon Dump

I have been fighting to keep Browning-Ferris Industries’ Sunshine Canyon Landfill out of our community for decades.

Thanks to tireless efforts of a variety of San Fernando Valley organizations, as well as an overwhelming number of Granada Hills residents, we were able to close the city portion of the dump when it reached its designated capacity in 1991.

But Sunshine Canyon refuses to go away. BFI has used its seemingly unlimited financial resources to keep it going, regardless of the dump’s negative impact on surrounding communities.

The so-called mitigation measures for the dump are nothing but a smoke screen. And although they may be better than nothing, the real solution for the health and welfare of area residents is to close it down.

I am realistic enough to realize that this goal probably will not be achieved with the Los Angeles County portion of the dump. But why reopen the city portion, as BFI proposes? The closure was a done deal when the dump reached its capacity. It’s as simple as that.

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Over the years, events surrounding the landfill have been nothing but a mix of politics, deception and bureaucracy. For example, zoning-related operational violations going back to the late 1980s were never fully resolved. That’s a time frame of more than a decade. Why?

Although the city portion of the facility was closed, the county permitted expansion in 1991. We sued over environmental problems and we prevailed, keeping the dump closed for five years.

Then the county approved what I would call a phony “time-to-crisis” report indicating that the county would run out of landfill space by 1995. That same year, the county had 30% remaining capacity. And that was without reopening Sunshine Canyon. Today there is still no crisis in landfill space.

Los Angeles city sanitation people have been equally irresponsible in suggesting that there is no place to dump our trash if the plan is not approved.

Additionally, although Los Angeles County gets millions of dollars in fees charged to haulers who dump in the landfill, the city of Los Angeles, in the opinion of the city attorney, cannot assess additional fees.

When the Sunshine Canyon operator applied to expand the landfill earlier this year, I went back to our files to review records and objections. In addition, I met with numerous individuals who live in the area and many community groups’ representatives who oppose the expansion.

Things haven’t changed. Concerns are still very evident. During my 25 years of fighting this facility, problems compounded as use of the landfill expanded and the population of Granada Hills grew. In 1988, BFI was ordered to conduct a health survey in Granada Hills to determine if there has been an impact. We still don’t have a report.

There might have been some mitigation steps, both voluntary on the part of BFI and dictated by enforcement agencies, but when you consider the health risks of a public dump in your backyard, mitigation is an unacceptable solution.

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As previously, I continue to have a variety of concerns:

* Major earthquake faults cannot be ignored. We do not have adequate information about potential disasters caused by underground motion. We must commission a comprehensive study by a reputable entity such as Caltech or the USC Earthquake Center.

* What I call “bad faith operations” by BFI give me an uneasy feeling. Numerous violations, continuous legal battles and noncompliance with scores of restrictions are among the items on a list that goes on and on. Why should we trust the Sunshine Canyon operator now?

* We certainly have enough air pollution in our basin. We do not need more. We cannot afford to take a chance with the health of our children, who attend schools and play in playgrounds and parks near the landfill. A health impact survey ordered years ago has not been done by BFI. I wonder why?

* Another big concern for years has been contamination of the city’s water supply and the regional impact on the Metropolitan Water District. Although the current operation may look cleaner than it used to be, contaminants continue to blow into the air and often wind up in our water supply facilities.

My constituents ask me if the public health, safety and welfare are protected around the landfill. The answer is no. Let’s face it, this is the worst place for a dump. The Valley, more specifically Granada Hills, cannot continue to be the dumping ground of Southern California. As long as this facility continues to operate, there is no sunshine at the end of the tunnel for its neighbors.