REGION MAY BE DOWN IN DUMPS ORANGE COUNTY MULLS TRASH BAN.

SANTA CLARITA - A move to stop trash from being trucked into Orange County could put a premium on landfill space in Los Angeles County and translate into increased profits - and costs - at private landfills.

Matt Terrell, the general manager of Chiquita Canyon Landfill near Val Verde, said his company is putting together the preliminary plans in the event that a proposed ballot initiative passes and prohibits trash haulers from dumping waste from other counties in Orange County landfills.

``We don't expect to see huge windfalls because we're located so far from the Orange County border,'' Terrell said. ``But we could see increased tonages from haulers in the Los Angeles area.''

About 75 percent of Santa Clarita's trash is dumped at Chiquita Canyon Landfill by the city's two trash haulers, Santa Clarita/Blue Barrel Disposal Co. and Atlas/Consolidated Disposal Service, which is operated by the dump's owner, Republic Services Inc.

But the move to close Orange County dumps to Los Angeles trash could put a premium on landfill space in Los Angeles County, increasing the fees haulers pay to dump their refuse, and hike fuel and transportation costs.

Allied Waste, which operates Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Granada Hills, also is trying to position itself to take advantage of the potential windfall.

``It could prove to be very good for business,'' said landfill manager Dave Edwards.

Residents of the Granada Hills area and of Santa Clarita have tried repeatedly to shut the Sunshine Canyon dump down, most recently citing dozens of environmental violations and citations issued over the last year.

About 3,600 tons of trash are imported every day to Orange County from Los Angeles and Riverside counties. The profits have been used to pay off debt incurred when the county went bankrupt in 1994.

An Orange County prohibition on imported trash could also raise the pressure on Los Angeles officials to allow Bradley Landfill - now slated to close next year - to remain active for another decade.

The proposal, made several months ago, is opposed by Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn, Councilman Alex Padilla and several community groups.

Operating costs in Los Angeles County are almost certain to increase over the foreseeable future as available space dwindles and permits expire, said Mike Mohajer, manager of environmental programs for Los Angeles County.

``Any action to ban L.A. trash from Orange County would only accelerate that trend,'' Mohajer said.

Blue Barrel is in the process of building a transfer station in Santa Clarita that will take trash to the company's dumps in the Antelope Valley in order to reduce costs when its contract at Chiquita Canyon Landfill expires in 2003, according to General Manager Karl McCarthy.

Both Atlas and Blue Barrel have been paying cut-rate fees to dump trash at Chiquita Canyon landfill, a result of deals each company inked while their parent companies were operating the landfills.