A group of residents near Castaic filed a lawsuit on Thursday, Feb. 23, demanding that Los Angeles County permanently close the Chiquita Canyon Landfill due to a continuous release of toxic odors for nearly a year that is making them sick.
The writ of mandate, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown Los Angeles, claims the county is not following state environmental laws and that the landfill is violating the terms of the landfill’s permit granted by the L.A. County Department of Regional Planning. The latest Conditional Use Permit was awarded on July 25, 2017 and authorized the municipal waste landfill to expand and operate for another 30 years.
The plaintiffs, Citizens for Chiquita Canyon Closure, represent mostly residents of the small, semi-rural community of Val Verde of about 5,000. Residents from Val Verde, as well as Castaic, Live Oak and Hasley Canyon — areas near the 639-acre landfill in the Santa Clarita Valley — have reported asthma attacks, bloody noses, skin irritations, nausea and heart palpitations to authorities, including the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Chiquita Canyon officials did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment for this story on Thursday.
On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ordered the landfill to fix the problem of odors and leachate escaping from the landfill into the communities. The Unilateral Administrative Order or UAO is made when the EPA finds a facility “may be an imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or the environment,” the EPA said in a statement.
Many residents say the noxious odors are so strong they are forced indoors day and night and are prevented from enjoying outdoor patios or backyards.
Parents with children at Live Oak Elementary School, located about one mile from the landfill, were given the option by the school administration to keep their children inside during recess, according to Oshea Orchid, an attorney with…
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