ANTI-LANDFILL FLIERS SENT OUT; MEETING ON SUNSHINE CANYON SET TODAY.

Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer

A grass-roots campaign against the Sunshine Canyon Landfill sent out thousands of fliers Wednesday urging Valley residents to pressure the City Council into killing a plan to reopen the dump.

``There are tremendous health and environmental impacts related to the landfill,'' said Mary Edwards of the North Valley Coalition of Concerned Citizens. ``We need to get the community to realize that this is not a benign project, that it will impact their lives dramatically.''

The coalition spent $1,000 to send out fliers this week asking residents to weigh in at the council's discussion of the dump at City Hall next Tuesday.

The Valley Industry and Commerce Association supports reopening the dump, and is hosting a public meeting with Councilman Alex Padilla this morning at Los Angeles Mission College in Sylmar to discuss the landfill, among other issues.

Landfill operator Browning Ferris Industries and city officials who support the project say it is needed to avert a potential crisis of landfill space in the city.

Browning Ferris has spent at least $432,653 to lobby for the expansion over the past two years, according to Los Angeles City Ethics Commission reports.

``We can't match that kind of money,'' said Edwards, ``They're selling out the health of the people to make money. It's unbelievable.''

City Councilman Hal Bernson, an opponent of the landfill for decades, vowed to push for a health impact study before a final decision.

A study was ordered years ago, but the Planning Department stalled, and the order was rescinded when the city's portion of the landfill closed in 1991, said Ali Sar, Bernson's spokesman.

He said a new set of mitigation plans will be presented to the council on Tuesday.

Edwards and other activists claim toxic chemicals from decomposing waste would ooze underground, polluting water in the nearby Joseph Jensen Water Filtration Plant and the Los Angeles Reservoir, both of which supply water countywide.

Arnie Berghoff, a BFI spokesman, has minimized the environmental impact, saying groundwater monitoring around the landfill since the 1960s shows no contamination has occurred.

But Edwards said if the council rejects Bernson's proposal, her group is prepared to sue to mandate a study.

Other groups, including homeowner associations in Granada Hills, Sylmar and Knollwood, also oppose the landfill.

In support of reopening the dump is VICA, arguing that if the city is forced to continue shipping its refuse to more distant sites, it could cost taxpayers up to four times more.

``This is a business issue because the cost of hauling long-range to any place outside the district will be extremely expensive,'' said VICA President Bonny Herman.

If approved, the dump would stretch over 451 acres with a capacity of 90 million tons. Opponents say developers may also renew efforts to expand the county portion of the dump for a total capacity of 215 million tons, making it one of the biggest landfills in the country.