EPA orders LA County landfill to curb hazardous waste leakage immediately

Federal environment officials have ordered a Los Angeles County landfill to take urgent action to protect public health, citing noxious odors and hazardous waste issues in the surrounding community.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Thursday instructed the Chiquita Canyon Landfill to mitigate such off-site impacts, by containing liquid leachate and reducing smoldering activities.

“This order reflects EPA’s commitment to ensuring landfill operators mitigate noxious odors and comply with federal law to prevent public exposure to hazardous wastes,” said Martha Guzman, EPA regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, in a statement.

The order, Guzman added, is the product “of local, state, and federal collaboration to better protect the health of nearby residents as well as the surrounding environment.”

The 639-acre Castaic, Calif., facility, situated about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, has accrued more than 6,800 complaints from residents about the smells and leachate, according to the EPA.

The liquid hazardous waste is the result of rainwater and other fluids filtering through or draining from trash placed in the landfill, the agency explained.

These 2023 complaints, submitted to the South Coast Air Quality Monitoring District, relayed numerous health effects from the odors, such as eye irritation, respiratory issues and skin ailments.

The South Coast District, per the EPA, has traced these odors back to the landfill and has taken independent enforcement actions in attempt to reduce public health risks.

Officials have identified the source of the problem as a sub-surface, elevated-heat smoldering that began at the landfill in May 2022 and has since expanded in size and intensity, according to the EPA.

The leachate emanating from the landfill contains high levels of the hazardous substance benzene, which can cause adverse effects to people who breathe contaminated air or drink polluted water.

As of mid-January, the EPA said that the closest resident to the smoldering area was located about 1,000 feet away from the site.

Since residents began complaining about the odors, Chiquita Canyon has received more than 100 violation notices from local and state regulatory agencies, the EPA noted.

In November 2023, local, state and federal officials joined hands to form a multi-agency critical action team, aimed at addressing the deteriorating conditions at the facility.

The instruction issued by the EPA is a “Unilateral Administrative Order,” which requires the landfill to manage, treat and dispose of hazardous waste and take action to reduce associated odors.

In doing so, the facility must comply with both the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. The acts collectively serve to address hazardous waste treatment, disposal and remedial action.

The Hill has reached out to Waste Connections Inc., the facility’s operator, for comment.