BRADLEY DECISION DELAYED STATE BOARD NOW TO VOTE APRIL 9 ON PERMIT REVISIONS FOR DUMP.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

State officials postponed a decision Wednesday on Bradley Landfill's operating permit after residents and lawmakers raised questions about operations, public disclosure and the recent discovery of radioactive waste in the dump.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board said it would vote April 9 on the proposed revisions that would raise the height, increase the capacity and prolong the estimated operating life allowed by Bradley's permit.

Waste Management Inc., which operates Bradley, has said the revisions would fix clerical errors and update the permit to reflect a 1998 reconfiguration of the site approved by the city.

But community activists charge that the reconfiguration and other small changes at the landfill were quietly approved by the city and ``have been cumulatively devastating'' to the neighborhood.

Carol Ann Ziehler, president of the activist East Valley Coalition, said the landfill was originally supposed to reach only 12 feet above ground level, and have a 300-foot buffer surrounding it. But the dump now towers 11 stories high, and is just 120 feet from the nearest home.

``Sun Valley has spiraled into the cesspool for Los Angeles,'' Ziehler told the six-member board, which met in Sacramento. ``Meanwhile the intent and spirit of the (California Environmental Quality Act) were subverted and the community steamed in quiet desperation.''

State Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, and Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez, D-Mission Hills, raised concerns about environmental justice, noting the low-income community is burdened with more landfills, mining operations and junkyards than other San Fernando Valley neighborhoods.

They also asked for further study of radioactive waste at Bradley. A recent state study found high levels of radioactivity in the leachate - the liquid that accumulates at the bottom of the dump.

Waste Management officials said the levels were similar to other landfills tested statewide, but the company is studying the results.

During the 1990s, Bradley unknowingly received shipments of radioactive debris from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a former nuclear research site located in the Simi Hills.

Alarcon, who represented the area on the City Council when the 1998 reconfiguration was approved, asked state waste officials to refer the proposed revisions back to the city for further review.

``I don't know how you can approve a permit knowing what you know today,'' he said. ``I would ask you and plead with you to send it back to the city of Los Angeles. I believe the city can come up with a better plan in conjunction with the citizens.''

Landfill Manager Doug Corcoran said he would spend the next three weeks meeting with residents and elected officials to address the concerns that stalled Wednesday's expected board vote.

``I think we have all the answers to the questions that have been raised,'' Corcoran said.

Staff Writer David M. Drucker in Sacramento contributed to this report.