Chiquita: Landfill opponents misrepresent cancer risk

A dozer pushes exposed trash at Chiquita Canyon Landfill. Dan Watson/ The Signal
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Chiquita Canyon Landfill issued this news release.

Castaic, Calif. (December 15, 2016) – Chiquita Canyon Landfill is calling on the public to hold project opponents accountable for misusing information in the County’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in an attempt to deliberately mislead and scare the public.

“This shows a total lack of integrity by landfill opponents by playing on people’s fears and emotions,” said Mike Dean, Vice President for Chiquita Canyon. “By extracting information from the EIR and repackaging it out of context, they are telling only part of the story in an effort to scare the public. They conveniently leave out the fact that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) established a numeric limit to protect public health and that the County’s EIR analysis shows we’re below that limit. Therefore the project does not pose a significant impact to public health.”

In response, Chiquita Canyon released the following statement late yesterday:

“Chiquita Canyon takes seriously the health and safety of our employees and neighbors. The DEIR included a detailed forensic analysis of all possible impacts to public health using the newest, most stringent standards set by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). The results conclude that cancer risk/health risk for neighbors, workers and other sensitive receptors fall below the threshold of significance as established by the AQMD.”

The partial recirculation of the Draft EIR includes updates and additional information to the Project Description and analyses of Biological Resources, Air Quality, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change, and Project Alternatives, as well as supplemental information on traffic and visual resources.

A public hearing on the Partially Recirculated Draft EIR will be held by the County Hearing Examiner on Thursday, December 15, starting at 6:00 pm and ending at 8:30 pm at West Ranch High School Theater.

About Chiquita Canyon

Chiquita Canyon has been in continuous operations for more than 40 years and is located in Castaic, California, approximately 3 miles west of the Interstate 5 on State Route 126 in the Santa Clarita Valley.  Chiquita Canyon provides the Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding Los Angeles communities with environmentally safe and efficient waste disposal services.

 Chiquita Canyon, like other solid waste landfills, over time generates a greenhouse gas, methane, which can be safely converted into a valuable source of clean energy.  Chiquita deploys a gas recovery system to collect methane which is then used to generate clean energy for nearly 10,000 homes each year.

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