Landfill in Thermal Told to Stop Open Burning of Waste

A federal judge on Thursday ordered a landfill in the Coachella Valley to stop the open burning of waste, a process that prosecutors have called a public safety and environmental hazard in the area, which includes a nearby trailer park.

The temporary restraining order against the owners of Lawson Landfill in Thermal came after U.S. District Judge Robert J. Timlin postponed a hearing to close the facility because he questioned whether the legal complaint and other court documents had been properly served to the site’s operators.

Federal prosecutors were seeking a preliminary injunction at U.S. District Court in Riverside to close the waste disposal business on tribal land. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigators recently banned trash burning at the landfill after discovering what they said were high levels of cancer-causing dioxins in mounds of ash.

Waste at the dump included wallboard, wood, oxidized metal, tires and household refuse, according to documents filed by federal prosecutors.

Because the nearest fire hydrant is six miles away, the Riverside County Fire Department had for years allowed trash fires at the dump to burn themselves out.

But EPA officials said they are concerned that the waste fires are discharging carcinogenic smoke, ash and dust over the landfill and an adjacent trailer park.

The judge said he would reconsider the preliminary injunction Aug. 18.

At Thursday’s hearing, Assistant U.S. Atty. Suzette Clover, who contended that the legal notice had been properly served, asked the judge to grant a temporary restraining order to prohibit open waste burning on the Lawson Landfill. “We continue to contend that the dump should not be operating and should be closed,” Clover said.

After the hearing, Kim Lawson, the landfill’s owner, said the facility is actually a recycling center, which has been operating since 1992. Lawson said he didn’t think his facility was creating a safety and environmental hazard.

In a related matter, federal prosecutors also are trying to shut down the trailer park adjacent to the waste disposal site.

The mobile home community, known as Duroville because its owner is Harvey Duro, houses 4,000 migrant farm workers on unsafe property that has untreated drinking water, lagoons of open sewage and defective wiring, according to prosecutors. A preliminary injunction against Duro will be considered in early August.