PANEL DELAYS DUMP DISCUSSION.

Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer

With time running short to decide whether Los Angeles will continue trucking trash to Sunshine Canyon Landfill or ship it outside the city limits, the Board of Public Works on Wednesday postponed its scheduled discussion until after the May 17 mayoral runoff.

A spokeswoman for Mayor James Hahn claimed Board President Valerie Shaw's decision to hold off the discussion - at least until May 25 - was unrelated to Hahn's close race for a second term against challenger Antonio Villaraigosa.

Hahn spokeswoman Sahar Moridani said Shaw had questions about the Bureau of Sanitation's analysis and estimates of $22 million in additional costs per year to use landfills outside the city, including whether those costs could be reduced. Shaw did not return phone calls.

A spokesman for the city Department of Public Works said Shaw wanted to convey her questions to Bureau of Sanitation managers in private before the next public meeting.

Hahn has pledged since his first mayoral campaign to stop using urban landfills and to end the city's contract with Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Granada Hills. But the city study estimates the additional $22 million annually for an alternative by Waste Management Inc. to take trash to the Antelope Valley and Riverside County.

``We knew there was the possibility of higher costs associated with getting out of Sunshine Canyon. Now we're looking at aggressive ways to reduce that cost. We're going back to Waste Management and let them know we are very serious about this,'' Moridani said.

``These are very valid questions and something we want the board to examine.''

Waste Management officials were frustrated with the delay, saying the city has been considering alternatives to Sunshine Canyon Landfill for at least two years. They speculated that city leaders were holding off on a decision until after the election.

``It started with the mayor's race four years ago, and here we are again in the mayor's race,'' said Doug Corcoran, district manager for Waste Management. ``There's unfinished business in the election, so people are careful, but we can't keep waiting.''

The trash contract will go back to the Board of Public Works about a month before the June 30 deadline to notify Browning Ferris Industries, which owns Sunshine Canyon Landfill, whether the city will renew its disposal contract.

Longtime Sunshine Canyon Landfill opponents said they didn't believe the delay was political - in part because both Hahn and City Councilman Villaraigosa have opposed renewing the BFI contract.

``I don't think it has as much to do with the race. There are serious questions. I think (the delay) is a good thing if it will answer the questions that we had on the report,'' said Mary Edwards, with the North Valley Coalition.

Among those questions are whether Waste Management will increase recycling, which could save money, and whether price estimates include the cost of trucking trash.

Kerry Cavanaugh, [phone]

kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com