CHIQUITA DUMP SOLD SUIT AGAINST OWNER SETTLED.

Byline: Heather MacDonald and Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writers

SANTA CLARITA - The Newhall Land and Farming Company sold the Chiquita Canyon Landfill on Thursday to the dump's operator for $65 million in cash, settling a lawsuit between the companies.

Republic Services of California, which is owned by Atlas Consolidated Services, has operated the Val Verde landfill since 1999. Republic sued Newhall Land after the firm moved to terminate the lease in December.

``This landfill sale to Republic basically settled the existing litigation between our company and Republic,'' said Marlee Lauffer, Newhall spokeswoman.

Newhall Land has consistently declined to discuss why the company sought to terminate the lease with Republic or explain other details surrounding the litigation.

Representatives of Atlas did not return telephone calls Thursday seeking comment.

Newhall Land opened the landfill during the early 1970s to serve the rapidly growing Santa Clarita Valley, and the city now sends 75 percent of its trash there. The landfill is expected to have room for 25 years.

``It doesn't really matter to the city who owns the landfill,'' said Jill Fosselman, the city's environmental services manager. ``It matters most to the haulers.''

Chiquita Canyon Landfill is at the center of a controversy around Santa Clarita's contracts with its two trash haulers, Atlas and Santa Clarita/Blue Barrel Disposal Co., which is owned by Waste Management Inc.

A city-sponsored study found that reporting errors at Chiquita Canyon Landfill mistakenly attributed 68,000 tons of Los Angeles County's trash to Santa Clarita. Blue Barrel officials said they have updated their reporting procedures to ensure that the mistake is not repeated.

Unless those reports are revised, as Santa Clarita officials believe they will be, the city could face stiff fines for violating a state law mandating that jurisdictions send 50 percent less trash to landfills than in 1990. State officials have said penalties are unlikely because of Santa Clarita's history of instituting new recycling programs.

Blue Barrel plans to build a state-of-the-art recycling center and transfer station within the next four years. That facility is expected to increase both the amount of trash recycled and the company's profits.

Once complete, the transfer station will allow Blue Barrel to send Santa Clarita's trash to Waste Management's Antelope Valley landfill, and avoid paying tipping fees to its rival.

Blue Barrel's existing contracts with the landfill and Republic, which give the company a discount on tipping fees based the large volume of trash it dumps every week, will be honored, Fosselman said.

Despite Mayor Laurene Weste's concerns that the $22.13 per month Santa Clarita residents pay for trash pickup and recycling services is too high, the City Council voted 4-1 in March to ink a new 10-year deal with Blue Barrel and Atlas. Blue Barrel controls about 85 percent of Santa Clarita's trash, according to city figures.

``Republic's purchase of the landfill gives the company a firm foothold in the Santa Clarita Valley,'' Fosselman said.

Weste and critics of the City Council said companies should have been asked to bid for the $15 million franchise before it was awarded to Blue Barrel and Atlas.

That deal has not been ratified by the City Council, which is awaiting a final report on the problems at the landfill. Earlier this month, the City Council ordered a top-to-bottom audit of the trash haulers and trash contracts. That audit is expected to begin in July once the council members issue a request for proposals.

Lauffer said the sale of Chiquita Canyon Landfill is part of Newhall Land's ongoing business strategy to raise money to buy back more of its stock and pay off some of its debt. Company officials believe the stock is undervalued.

The company also plans to sell the Bank of America and Spectrum Club buildings along with similar business complexes, Lauffer said.

Newhall Land said it's net operating income for 2001, not including the assets it plans to sell, is expected to reach $21 million, down from the previously projected $23 million.

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Chiquita Canyon Landfill