COUNTY PANEL TO WEIGH OPTIONS TO LANDFILL SITES : HAULING, CONVERSION TO BE PONDERED.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

In a victory for environmentalists, county solid waste officials will take a closer look at landfill alternatives such as rail haul and converting waste to energy as it prepares for the next century.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ordered a solid waste task force to include more information on dump alternatives in a draft plan that identifies regional landfill capacity during the next 15 years.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich made the recommendation after the U.S. Senate passed legislation about two weeks ago that kills plans for the Elsmere Canyon Landfill in the Angeles National Forest.

``We asked the committee to come back with stronger program for rail haul, waste-to-energy and other alternative programs,'' said David Vannatta, an aide to Antonovich. ``Now that Elsmere is essentially, if not totally, gutted, let's go back and start looking at this a little closer. Hopefully we'll get expanded discussion and recommendation of these other alternatives.''

Anti-landfill activists cheered the county's decision.

``That is a very, very good motion,'' said Marsha McLean, an alternate member of the Integrated Waste Management Task Force that is preparing the study. ``We've been saying all along that urban landfills are dangerous and things of the past.''

The countywide siting element must be approved by the Board of Supervisors and at least 45 cities that represent a majority of city populations in the county. The plan includes potential locations of dumps, including the 1,600-acre Elsmere Canyon at one time.

But plans for the dump were scuttled after the U.S. Senate approved the Omnibus Parks and Lands Management Act of 1996, which contains a provision that prohibits the secretary of agriculture from approving a land swap in the Angeles National Forest for a landfill.

``Since Elsmere Canyon is pretty much a dead issue they need to look at other alternatives,'' McLean said. ``The siting element was completely lacking in landfill alternatives.''

Mike Mohajer, an assistant division chief for the county Department of Public Works, said he is prepared to study landfill alternatives.

``We're going to be discussing all alternative disposal technology that includes waste-to-energy and various other types of incineration,'' Mohajer said. ``Those are viable but the question is are they economically viable.''

After the board approves the plan, it is sent to cities, which can accept or reject the plan through formal public hearings. The state Integrated Waste Management Board has the final say.