Official seeks protection for Western Waste pact.Riverside supervisor raises questions about probe TORRANCE Torrance, industrial and residential city (1990 pop. 133,107), Los Angeles co., SW Calif.; inc. 1921. It has large aircraft and electronics industries. Among its many manufactures are aircraft, electronics, communications equipment, aluminum products, steel, and - A plan by Western Waste Industries Inc. to build the second largest landfill in California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). could be derailed by Riverside County officials who are raising concerns about whether the FBI is investigating the Torrance-based company. Western Waste won preliminary approval last month to expand its 8 million-ton El Sobrante landfill in an unincorporated area In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, i.e., a city or town with its own government. of Riverside County into a 108 million-ton facility. Part of the approval would include a permit allowing Western Waste to import trash from L.A. County. But Riverside County Supervisor John Tavaglioni said he wants some protection in light of reports concerning an ongoing FBI investigation. Western Waste's parent company, Dallas-based USA Waste Services Inc., has stated in a Securities and Exchange Commission report that it has reason to believe it may be the subject of an investigation relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc public corruption. An FBI agent testified in federal court in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. that Western Waste was the subject of a public corruption investigation in 1994. When asked if anyone from Western Waste had been indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. , FBI Special Agent Kevin Adley responded, "Not yet." Riverside concerns In addition, sources have told the Business Journal that Western Waste employees have been questioned in recent months about whether officials "did anything illegal" to secure waste-hauling contracts in L.A. County cities. Tavaglioni said he has read news accounts about the investigation and is concerned about the county forming a "partnership" with a company which may be the subject of an investigation. "I brought up the need for the County of Riverside to insert a clause into the contract that stated that, if in fact the company or its supervisors are found guilty of any wrongdoing wrong·do·er n. One who does wrong, especially morally or ethically. wrong  do , that we have the
mechanism (to) hack out of it," he said.
"The way others on the board put it, it's a 'bad boy' clause," Tavaglioni said. But Al Simonian, a Western Waste vice president, said the clause could be a deal-breaker. "We can protect the county, but obviously we can't invest $200 million in the landfill and then have someone cancel on us." Simonian said the $200 million price tag includes the cost of expanding the landfill and operating it. Clause of its own Simonian said Western Waste's lawyers have drafted a clause that would "protect the county" and that Western Waste would agree to sign. He declined to reveal any other details of that clause, saying Western Waste plans to present it to the Riverside County Counsel's Office this week. An official from the Riverside County Counsel's Office did not return several phone inquiries from the Business Journal. Simonian said the company has never asked federal officials if it is the target of an investigation. "We don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. that we are under investigation," he said. "What we're reading is the same thing you're reading in the press." Currently, El Sobrante, located seven miles south of the City of Corona Corona, city, United States Corona (kərō`nə), city (1990 pop. 76,095), Riverside co., S Calif.; inc. 1896. The city developed as a primary citrus fruit producer and shipping center. There is also light manufacturing. , accepts 4,000 tons of trash a day and is expected to reach its maximum capacity in 15 years. Under the expansion plan, the landfill would accept up to 10,000 tons of trash a day and would not reach its capacity for 45 to 50 years. Simonian said the El Sobrante landfill expansion is a key element to Western Waste's ability to compete in the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, waste industry. "When you have a competitor that has a landfill, he controls your disposal costs," which can create a significant competitive disadvantage, Simonian explained. |
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