Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger is doubling down on efforts to address the odorous woes emanating from Chiquita Canyon Landfill. In a move mustering support for more assertive action, Barger penned a letter to Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, urging her to push state agencies to more vigilantly monitor and regulate the site's leachate issues. This landfill has been in the hot seat after the US Environmental Protection Agency called it out for the mismanagement of leachate — a potentially hazardous liquid that can seep out of landfills.
"Given the ongoing efforts of County, State, and Federal agencies to exercise our collective authority to regulate the Landfill and eliminate the ongoing odor impacts to the community, time is of the essence," Barger expressed in her correspondence, as stated in a release on her website. The letter accentuates that several state agencies and Special Districts have jurisdiction over the landfill's leachate, which requires adequate treatment, storage, and disposal to prevent environmental hazards.
Only last week, Barger directed County officials to lay out the County's attempts to regulate the landfill during a Board of Supervisors meeting. She elaborated on the potential course of action, underscoring state agencies' power to revoke permits and facilitate the landfill's closure. "Unilateral action by the County at this time will certainly be legally challenged and will go nowhere," Barger wisely pointed out, echoing her sentiments in a statement issued post-meeting. The Supervisor is actively seeking to build a fortified case for the landfill's shutdown, with the united front of relevant state agencies such as South Coast Air Quality Management District, the Regional Water Quality Control Board Los Angeles Region, and CalRecycle — the leading agency in charge of landfill closures and maintenance.
Supervisor Barger's consistent push for collaborative regulation emphasizes the urgent need for joint efforts. "There must be a clear justification to order Chiquita Canyon Landfill’s closure and we can build a stronger case to do so with support," Barger shared, hoping to rally state agencies to band and stand together against the landfill's operational controversies.
