CHIQUITA LANDFILL EXPANSION SOUGHT BATTLE LIKELY IN VAL VERDE COMMUNITY.Byline: Eugene Tong tong 1 tr.v. tonged, tong·ing, tongs To seize, hold, or manipulate with tongs. [Back-formation from tongs. Staff Writer VAL VERDE Val Verde may mean:
anosmia Medicine. the absence of the sense of smell; olfactory anesthesia. Also called anosphrasia. — anosmic, adj. halitosis bad breath; an unpleasant odor emanating from the mouth. from the dump are fearing the worst. Within a 592-acre site, the area used for waste disposal would expand from the current 257 acres to a total of 355 acres under a proposed revision of the landfill master plan. The owners also are seeking a permit allowing on-site treatment of wastewater and solids - sewage - prohibited under the current conditional-use permit from county government. Chiquita Canyon General Manager Michael Dean said Monday the 6,000-tons-per-day landfill still has room to grow, though under current limits it could reach capacity as early as 2013, about six years sooner than some previous estimates. Also expected to close the same year is Puente Hills Puente Hills is a chain of hills in an unincorporated area in eastern Los Angeles County, California. It lies to the south of the San Gabriel Valley and the Pomona Freeway (California State Route 60), to the east of the San Gabriel River Freeway (Interstate 605), to the north of Landfill, the county's largest waste disposal site, which takes in some 13,200 tons of trash a day, Dean said. ``We want to prevent premature closure to Chiquita. ... We want to continue to provide environmentally sound and cost-effective waste disposal for the people in the community and the valley. ... This will help postpone post·pone tr.v. post·poned, post·pon·ing, post·pones 1. To delay until a future time; put off. See Synonyms at defer1. 2. To place after in importance; subordinate. the anticipated shortage of cost-effective, in-county disposal capacity,'' he said. The county Department of Regional Planning regional planning: see city planning. completed an initial application study in July and is preparing an environmental impact report, which could take at least a year, Dean said. But some residents of Val Verde, an unincorporated Adj. 1. unincorporated - not organized and maintained as a legal corporation unorganised, unorganized - not having or belonging to a structured whole; "unorganized territories lack a formal government" community of 1,500 people northeast of the dump, believe the expansion would compound their woes. They blame the landfill for a foul odor odor (o´der) a volatile emanation perceived by the sense of smell. o·dor n. 1. The property or quality of a thing that affects, stimulates, or is perceived by the sense of smell. hanging in their neighborhood, which they have reported to health and air-quality regulators. Despite two nuisance citations from the South Coast Air Quality Management District The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), formed in 1976, is the air pollution agency responsible mainly for regulating stationary sources of air pollution for most of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside County, and all of Orange county. , landfill officials deny the dump is the source. ``Even right now, it's hard for me to breathe,'' said Natalie Tate, a 16-year Val Verde resident. ``We're completely against any more expansion that would cause us any more odor damage and any odor that's not acceptable.'' Bernie Torres, who believes the odor has led to breathing problems, said he is considering moving after 11 years in his home. ``I'm entertaining the thought of selling,'' he said. ``You don't just live next to a landfill. You live next to a troubled landfill. Even when it (cools) down, the sun still cooks the trash.'' When county approval was given in 1996 for the dump to expand from roughly 160 acres to the current 257 acres, the Val Verde Civic Association struck a deal to avoid costly litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. : The association would receive $250,000 a year from the owner - currently Republic Services Inc. - with a 2 percent annual increase. The group, which has used the money to fund scholarships, parks and youth programs, expected roughly $6.8 million over 20 years. But early closure would reduce that. The expansion would include what planners are calling an ``East Canyon'' extension, northeast of the main canyon landfill, and a smaller ``South Footprint'' extension near the landfill's office along state Highway 126. The environmental report's scope foresees future developments, such as a 21,000-home subdivision at Newhall Ranch, south of Highway 126 and west of Interstate in·ter·state adj. Involving, existing between, or connecting two or more states. n. One of a system of highways extending between the major cities of the 48 contiguous United States. Noun 1. 5. It also calls for evaluating ``optimization'' of the landfill - with analysis of potential impacts of higher daily volumes and higher maximum elevation, up from 1,430 feet to 1,540 feet. ``It's really a way to frame maximum impact, which is not what we asked for in the application,'' Dean said. Eugene Tong, (661) 257-5253 eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: A 98-acre expansion is being proposed for waste disposal at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill near Val Verde. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion