LANDFILL FIGHT INTENSIFIES.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

Los Angeles County officials have threatened to stop the dumping of waste from inside city limits at the Sunshine Canyon Landfill unless Los Angeles city officials agree to let the dump expand into Granada Hills.

Headed by Mayor James Hahn, a contingent of city officials is trying to block the effort by Browning Ferris Industries to expand Sunshine Canyon across unincorporated land and into city limits, creating one of the nation's largest urban landfills.

But county planners considering BFI's application said recently they may include a provision that would prevent the company from accepting trash collected in the city unless city officials allow the expansion.

``Because landfill capacity is in short supply, the county wouldn't want to be potentially liable for trash capacity when the city won't live up to to its share,'' said Daryl Koutnik, who is leading the review of Sunshine Canyon for the Regional Planning Department.

As much as 95 percent of the 6,600 tons of trash dumped daily at Sunshine Canyon comes from homes and businesses in Los Angeles, officials said. As a result, other county-contracted haulers frequently make the trek to Sunshine Canyon only to be turned away. Then they must travel to landfills in Calabasas, Whittier or Orange County.

County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents the area, lost his fight to keep the county portion of the landfill from reopening. However, he would support the condition barring dumping of waste from city homes and businesses at the county landfill.

``It's fairly obvious we are running out of landfill space, and we have to provide for the residents of the county,'' said his chief deputy, Bob Haueter.

``In a situation like this, we are basically taking landfill space that is being depleted and subsidizing the city of Los Angeles without them sharing the pain of providing adequate landfill space.''

But Los Angeles officials say a ban would interfere with the city's contract with BFI and could be a violation of interstate commerce law.

``We believe that that kind of a restriction is illegal,'' said Eric Moses, a spokesman for City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo.

Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Brian Williams said he would be surprised if county officials went through with the threat to enact a ban.

``There would be some legal and other ramifications if they were to go down that path,'' he said, noting the ban would create more pollution, as garbage trucks traveled greater distances, and force city residents and businesses to pay more for waste disposal.

BFI District Manager Greg Loughnane said he understands county officials' frustration with city officials when nearly all trash from the city is dumped in Sunshine Canyon.

``We're shutting down (Sunshine) every day before noon, and what happens is county waste ends up going off site and out of the county,'' Loughnane said.

The city's agreement with BFI guarantees space for Los Angeles trash at least through 2006. The city has no contingency plans if city trash was rejected at the county side of the landfill, Bureau of Sanitation Assistant Director Enrique Zaldivar said.

``That would be a challenging scenario,'' he said.

A special committee created by Hahn has recommended the city end its dumping in urban landfills by June 2006 by toughening recycling rules and sending remaining trash to far-off dumps by rail lines.

This isn't the first time county officials have considered banning city trash from the county side of the landfill.

In 1991, the original Sunshine Canyon Landfill - a 205-acre dump that contained nearly 30 million tons of trash - closed when city officials refused to renew its permit.

That same year, the county Board of Supervisors gave BFI permission to open a 257-acre dump capable of holding 35 million tons of trash. City officials and the North Valley Coalition activist group filed a lawsuit to stop that development. In retaliation, county government barred the city from dumping in its landfill, but lifted the ban after the city dropped its lawsuit.

``But there was full expectation at that time that the city would proceed with the city expansion,'' Loughnane said.

The county permit even directed BFI to ``diligently pursue'' its application to expand the landfill into Granada Hills. And with the city expansion, BFI would eventually join the two landfills into one massive landfill capable of holding 90 million tons of trash, one of the largest in the nation.

In 1999, the City Council approved the BFI's expansion into Granada Hills, and Hahn - who was city attorney at the time - defended the action in lawsuits to overturn the project, although he opposed its reopening when he ran for mayor.

BFI is seeking to expand the county landfill up to the city-county line in preparation for the joint dump. The company filed an application for a new land-use permit in 2000, but approval has been slow going as officials consider past environmental studies, traffic impacts and water-quality issues. BFI hopes to get permit approval from the Regional Planning Commission in late summer or early fall.

Tucked between the homes of Granada Hills and Interstate 5, Sunshine Canyon was once a forest thick with firs and oaks fed by tiny streams. The city-county line cuts across the canyon, with the lower end an entrance to San Fernando Road in the city and the upper reaches outside city limits. The canyon has been used as a landfill since 1958.

If BFI is allowed to operate the joint landfill, it would be able to accept 12,100 tons of trash per day, the second largest intake in the nation. The largest is at Puente Hills in Whittier, according to waste industry experts.

STATE HEARING TODAY

State waste board officials will take testimony today on the proposed Sunshine Canyon Landfill expansion into Los Angeles. The Permitting and Enforcement Committee of the California Integrated Waste Management Board will consider the permit at its 9:30 a.m. meeting in Sacramento. The full board is expected to vote on the issue on May 13.

A Web cast of today's hearing can be accessed at www.ciwmb.ca.gov.

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A state committee will take testimony today in Sacramento on Browning Ferris Industries' proposed expansion of Sunshine Canyon Landfill into Los Angeles city limits at Granada Hills.

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer

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STATE HEARING TODAY (see text)