LANDFILL SEEKS MORE DAILY TRASH INCREASE WOULD BOOST INTAKE BY 1,300 TONS.

Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Already getting more than one-third of its trash from Los Angeles, the Lancaster Landfill could see more dump trucks rolling through its gates, following a request to increase its maximum daily trash intake by 1,300 tons a day.

Waste Management Inc.'s request to the county Regional Planning Commission says the increase would not mean an expansion of its landfill at Avenue F and 10th Street East, but it means filling it up years ahead of schedule.

The landfill needs to take in more trash to accommodate a growing Antelope Valley population, and a countywide system of landfills increasingly is strapped for places to put trash, said Mike Williams, director of projects for Waste Management.

``There's talk ... that there could be a shortage of capacity,'' Williams said.

Most of the Lancaster Landfill's trash comes from Lancaster, Palmdale and elsewhere in northern Los Angeles County. But last year, 191,000 tons of the nearly 469,000 tons of trash the landfill received was from Los Angeles, according to the county Department of Public Works.

While the landfill does not receive trash from Los Angeles' city government, private operators in the city move trash to transfer stations and that trash is later moved to the Lancaster Landfill, Williams said.

The Lancaster Landfill is not expected to reach its maximum allowable intake every day.

But a draft environmental analysis prepared for the Regional Planning Commission predicts that, with trash intake going from 1,700 tons a day to 3,000 tons, the landfill would shut down 12 years earlier -- 2019 instead of 2031.

County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich is keeping tabs on the proposed increase in trash intake at the landfill.

The supervisor's staff wants to know about increased dump-truck traffic, and how the extra trash delivery could affect the quality of underground water sources, said Norm Hickling, a field deputy for the supervisor.

``Those would be the things that would concern Supervisor Antonovich,'' he said. ``And by concern, I mean need to be addressed.''

A public hearing on the proposal could come before the Regional Planning Commission early next year.

If the plan is approved, Waste Management would need to get further approval from the state, which could take six months. With that approval in hand, it would be able to increase its trash intake immediately.

The plan also calls for an increase of 1,600 to 2,800 in the daily tonnage of soil, green or wood waste, recyclable and other non-harmful materials going to the landfill.

Lyle Talbot, 76, vice president of Desert Citizens Against Pollution, said he is not surprised by Waste Management's requested increase in trash intake.

``We fought them when they wanted to expand and open another section across the street,'' he said. ``They've always been looking for an expansion or to increase their intake.''

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