ALTERNATIVES TO SUNSHINE CANYON DUMP PUSHED.

Byline: Rick Orlov and Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writers

A third City Council panel ducked action Wednesday on Sunshine Canyon Landfill, while other officials made a last-ditch effort to head off final approval of a $157 million contract to continue hauling L.A.'s trash to the Granada Hills dump.

With a final decision due in less than two weeks, Councilman Greig Smith said he is drafting a proposal to convince Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to reopen talks with Browning Ferris Industries. Smith also wants to persuade the landfill operator not to raise Los Angeles' rate if the city opts to use other dumps to dispose of some of its trash.

Meanwhile, two BFI competitors turned up the heat, meeting with city officials and sending a pointed letter questioning Bureau of Sanitation cost estimates that put Sunshine Canyon Landfill as the cheapest available option.

The City Council is scheduled to consider the matter Friday, and members must decide by Feb. 28 whether to renew the five-year deal with BFI.

Villaraigosa has said he supports Sunshine Canyon - reluctantly - because it would cost $15 million to $30 million a year more to haul the 3,800 tons of trash generated daily to another site.

Under the proposed contract, the city would pay BFI $25 a ton to dump all its trash at Sunshine Canyon. If it fails to meet the deadline or splits the contract, BFI promises to charge the city $45 per ton.

BFI officials already have said they have no plans to reopen talks.

``During recent meetings, other waste companies and some city officials made comments concerning the possibility of BFI offering, or being willing to offer, reduced pricing,'' BFI District Manager Greg Loughnane wrote in a letter to the council. ``The (city) should make no such assumptions.''

Smith, who represents the area around the landfill, said he believes BFI would be willing to accommodate the city.

``We are their largest customer and, as a businessman, I would want to keep my largest customer satisfied,'' Smith said.

On the same day the council's Energy and the Environment Committee refused to make a recommendation on the contract, one of BFI's competitors was lobbying city officials to consider its proposal.

Waste Management Inc., which has offered to take trash at El Sobrante Landfill in Riverside County, sent a letter to Bureau of Sanitation Director Rita Robinson, the mayor and the City Council saying it can provide a viable, cost-effective alternative to Sunshine Canyon.

``We believe an opportunity exists to make a meaningful change that will align the city with its stated goal of ending its dependence on urban landfills,'' Waste Management Director of Operations Doug Corcoran wrote.

The other bidder, MDSI of LA Inc., has proposed taking Los Angeles trash to the city of Avenal in Kings County, northwest of Bakersfield. Attorney Jerold Neuman said the city has overestimated the costs of hauling trash 180 miles to Avenal.

``We are making some headway and there is a recognition that a portion of the waste stream is cheaper coming to Avenal today than going to Sunshine Canyon,'' he said.

City leaders have sought alternatives to the urban landfill for three years. During his campaign for mayor, Villaraigosa told Granada Hills residents he would support plans to reduce the amount of trash dumped at Sunshine Canyon.

He reversed himself after taking office, however, saying he could not justify the higher costs when the city is facing upward of a $245 million budget shortfall this year.

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com