STUDY MAY DECIDE TOLAND DUMP'S FATE.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

The hotly disputed Toland Road Landfill expansion is in the hands of geologists attempting to decide whether an earthquake fault runs through the site and if it is active and poses a threat to groundwater.

The Ventura Regional Sanitation District began increased dumping in August after gaining regulatory approvals, but expansion is limited by a fault that regulators consider active based on studies by landfill opponents. Sanitation district officials contend that the fault is not active and hope to persuade state regulators.

Geologists for the sanitation district, landfill opponents, Ventura County and the Regional Water Quality Control Board in Los Angeles will meet at the landfill Friday in an effort to reach agreement on the fault and what it means for the trash dump.

``It's definitely an important stage in resolving the issue,'' said Rod Nelson, senior engineering geologist for the state agency. ``That will dictate the design of the landfill.''

The geologists have dug trenches and studied maps over the past month to learn more about the Culbertson Fault and how it could move if an earthquake hit the larger San Cayetano Fault a mile away.

A geologist who once worked in the county and did recent studies for landfill opponents, who have filed suit to block the expansion, says the Culbertson Fault is active both on and off the landfill site.

Those claims prompted the water quality control board to approve the expansion in July with a 200-foot setback from the fault, as required by law. If the setback remains, the sanitation district would lose about one-third of its planned expansion unless the clay liner intended to protect groundwater could be designed to withstand ground movement expected from an earthquake in the area, Nelson said.

``If they stay 200 feet away, then we wouldn't have any problem with it,'' Nelson said.

The water quality control board regulates siting, construction, operation and closure of all landfills in California. Nelson said the regional board must review reports from all sides before deciding whether to remove the setback that limits the landfill expansion.

Sanitation district officials were not available for comment Wednesday. They have contended that every issue raised by opponents has been thoroughly investigated and analyzed in the project's environmental impact report and by regulatory agencies at the county and state level.

The cities of Fillmore and Santa Paula, the Santa Clara School District and a group of growers have combined three lawsuits challenging the project's environmental report. Opponents fear the larger dump would foul the agricultural area with truck traffic, noise and dust, and would pollute air and groundwater.

The opponents charge that the danger to groundwater posed by an active earthquake fault shows the environmental study is not adequate.

``In the beginning, it was a concern that just didn't seem to be adequately pursued like the others,'' said Gordon Kimball, a grower among the property owners who joined in the lawsuit. ``This is not a flier, a last hope. This is a real concern.''

The sanitation district eventually wants to expand dumping from 135 tons to 1,500 tons per day. The expansion is projected to boost the lifetime capacity of the landfill from 2.5 million tons to 15 million tons over 31 years.

Toland Road Landfill opened in 1970 to serve Fillmore, Santa Paula and the unincorporated county. With the expansion, it replaces Bailard Landfill - which closed Aug. 24 - as the west county's main dump.