The amount of noxious gases being released from a landfill in Castaic is increasing, resulting in additional health issues reported by residents that include asthma attacks, bloody noses and nausea, according to testimony from air pollution experts at a hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 6.
Chiquita Canyon Landfill came under intense scrutiny from the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s hearing board, which heard from experts on both sides about the strong landfill odors affecting residents from Val Verde, Castaic, Live Oak and Hasley Canyon — areas near the 639-acre landfill in the Santa Clarita Valley.
By unanimous vote, the board imposed an order which would allow the landfill to continue operating as long as the landfill works on fixing the odor problems that began intensifying in April and seem to be worsening.
Representatives of the AQMD and Chiquita Canyon LLC have signed the stipulated order, which contains 40 conditions requiring improvements to the landfill.
The overall goal is to eventually rid the region of pungent odors by installing more wells to extract gases and flares to burn away compounds before gases are released into the air, and to add new landfill covers to prevent gases from leaking through surface cracks, according to the order.
While both sides differed on the cause of the health effects, the AQMD reported that gases continue to be released and more impacts are being reported.
“We are hearing a lot more adverse health issues than before. And it has expanded into other areas,” testified Laurance Israel, supervising air quality inspector with the AQMD. Israel has inspected the facility numerous times in recent months and is familiar with the situation at the landfill.
Since April, the AQMD has issued 59 violation notices against the landfill for releasing excessive amounts of gaseous sulfur. It has received 2,100 complaints to date, Israel testified.
Chiquita Canyon LLC agreed to the order. Lawyers and engineers hired…
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