SWEET DEAL WITH BFI WILL TURN SOUR.

Byline: Sid Gold

Beware of BFI bearing gifts!

I warn you, residents of Santa Clarita, not to be seduced by the offer that Browning Ferris Industries has extended. According to their spokesman, Jim Ambroso, for the privilege of getting the waste-hauling contract for the city of Santa Clarita, they dangle carrots of a 20 percent discount on the prevailing rate, enhanced commercial and multifamily recycling, diaper recycling, etc. Also, he continued, BFI would offer up the title for Elsmere Canyon by donating a significant portion of property for parks and open space.

All these goodies for an exclusive contract for a mere 20 years. Sounds pretty good. However, in the background is that stick if the city does not comply - namely that BFI as Trojan horse threatens to revisit opening Elsmere Canyon as a landfill.

In addition, to sweeten this temptation, BFI suggests sacrificing the health and safety of Granada Hills and all of Los Angeles County by graciously dumping your refuse into the Sunshine Canyon Landfill in neighboring Granada Hills. Sunshine Canyon may be spotted whenever you may take the Balboa Boulevard turnoff coming down the Golden State Freeway.

As you go along San Fernando Road you will see in bold letters BFI Sunshine Canyon Landfill. This scenic dump is conveniently located on an earthquake fault and sitting upstream from the Jensen filtration plant, the source of most of the water for Los Angeles County and upwind from nearby schools. And why not continue at Chiquita landfill? Simple - BFI makes money from all the trash delivered to its own site.

What BFI and Ambroso neglect to say is that the Los Angeles city side of Sunshine Canyon's expansion (operated by BFI) is still under investigation. BFI has been neglectful in their management of the already open county side. Some of the travesties they have committed include venting of toxic methane into the atmosphere, accepting untreated medical waste and body parts, and possibly tainting the water table of the San Fernando Valley. Because of this behavior, this so-called city expansion has not yet been approved. The landfill, in fact, is under study and audit by the state.

BFI is exploiting you with this ``sweetheart'' deal to help get final approval for a license to operate at Sunshine Canyon.

Imagine if you give them a contract and they are not able to open Sunshine Canyon. You can bet that they will turn their greedy eyes toward Elsmere and find a reason to revisit even if they have given up title. Rest assured, they are not unlike the Amityville Horror, they are always back.

It is clear that BFI is a company following the money, and I suggest you see to whom in Santa Clarita they have offered their largesse. In Los Angeles, a great deal of cash changed hands between BFI and City Council members, who then voted 8 to 7 to re-open the closed dump site. Lame duck Mayor Richard Riordan unfortunately signed the ordinance.

Some will argue that this is a case of `not in my back yard.' However, BFI's tactics go far beyond. The stakes are high for BFI and its profits. We cannot allow sacrificing the health and safety of the county to accommodate BFI's bottom line. We must, as good neighbors, preserve the environment and protect Elsmere Canyon and save Sunshine Canyon. We can no longer let landfills or gravel mines be sited in close proximity to residential areas.

I call on the residents of Santa Clarita to join with us in Granada Hills and the North Valley Coalition against Sunshine Canyon to fight against the abuses of BFI.