Landfill Plan Gets Qualified Support

An expanded Sunshine Canyon landfill would not threaten existing surface and ground-water supplies as long as its operators comply with strict construction, operation and maintenance regulations, according to a staff report by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

The report, to be presented at a public hearing today at the Metropolitan Water District headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, specifies acceptable materials, waste containment, disposal site operations, water quality protection standards, ground-water monitoring and drainage and erosion controls, among other provisions.

The regional board could vote to approve, reject, amend or delay action on the staff members’ recommendation to adopt the regulations, which would clear another hurdle in the process to expand the landfill, operated by Browning-Ferris Industries.

“The staff is suggesting that, if certain conditions are met, the expansion will not pose a threat to surface and ground water,” said Stephen Cain, a spokesman for the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Last month, the California Integrated Waste Management Board awarded BFI a permit to expand its trash-dumping operation from an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County into Granada Hills.

Before construction could begin, the proposed expansion would need approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Department of Fish and Game and the city of Los Angeles.