EPA orders actions against Los Angeles landfill

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials have ordered The Woodlands, Texas-based Waste Connections Inc., the operators of Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Castaic, California, to take immediate steps to protect human health and the environment, saying noxious odors and hazardous liquid waste from a smoldering fire pose an imminent danger to nearby communities, Los Angeles Times reports.

The EPA’s action comes amid growing calls to shut down the facility. Chiquita Canyon is a 639-acre landfill providing service for California’s Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding Los Angeles communities.

“This order reflects EPA’s commitment to ensuring landfill operators mitigate noxious odors and comply with federal law to prevent public exposure to hazardous wastes,” says EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman.

The source of the growing crisis, the Times reports, is a heat-generating chemical reaction that likely began deep within the landfill in May of 2022. Extreme heat and growing pressure within the dump have caused a hot, contaminated water to spill onto the surface or occasionally erupt like a geyser. The polluted water has contained cancer-causing benzene above federal standards, making it liquid hazardous waste, according to environmental regulators.

Waste Connections tells the Times that many of the EPA directives are already in the process of being implemented.

RELATED: California landfill operator reaches agreement on noxious odors

L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the area, wrote a letter calling on the landfill to provide funds to relocate residents who want to temporarily move until the issue is resolved. However, according to the story, Barger has expressed hesitance to close the site.

“The county cannot unilaterally close the landfill without justification,” says Barger in a statement. “The odors do not originate from active portions of the landfill and since the landfill’s operator is actively working to abate odors, closing Chiquita Canyon Landfill would have no effect on decreasing or eliminating odors.”

Additionally, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has issued the landfill’s owners with a summary of violations that includes failing to minimize the potential release of hazardous waste—containing benzene in exceedance of hazardous waste thresholds—into the air, ground or water. DTSC also issued a warning to the local board of supervisors and the local health officer around the landfill for the “threatened illegal discharge” of hazardous waste. In a statement, DTSC says it will continue to work with local, state and federal partners to support compliance efforts and keep the community informed.