The Chiquita Canyon Landfill Community Advisory Committee is set to hold its last meeting of the calendar year Tuesday, when the committee is expected to discuss recent legislation around the crisis and updates on local concerns.
The community group meets monthly in person and online to discuss the nearly 2-year-old problem at the Castaic landfill and the resources that are available to residents.
Officials at the landfill have yet to figure out the root cause of the nauseating stench coming from an older section of the facility.
It’s producing air pollution and residents’ claims of a flurry of health problems, ranging from headaches to a cancer cluster that’s under investigation by the county’s Department of Public Health.
“I wanted to share that the first two bills I introduced (Monday) after being sworn in were to provide tax relief (Assembly Bill 27) for any funds from the landfill related to the current disaster, and also a push for funding to relocate neighbors (AB 28),” Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, wrote in a letter to a pair of community groups working on landfill issues. “Once it’s referred to a committee, letters of support are very helpful and I’m hoping the county will also support.”
Rep. George Whitesides, D-Santa Clarita, indicated recently he plans to continue a similar effort started by former Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, for federal tax relief on those benefits.
A community health survey just closed for residents, and a formal discussion of the results was not placed on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.
The survey asked those impacted what they felt the priorities should be for a community benefit fund from the landfill, which also is currently being sued by more than 1,500 area residents through a class-action federal lawsuit.
L.A. County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger announced in October she was asking the county’s Cancer Surveillance Program to look into residents’ health concerns.
The program, which is administered by the USC Keck School of Medicine, operates independently of L.A. County Public Health.
Officials at the landfill have yet to figure out the root cause of the nauseating stench coming from an older section of the facility, but it’s producing air pollution and a potential for water pollution over which the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency also has expressed concern.
A recent report indicated the landfill is sinking at a faster than normal rate, producing close to 1 million gallons of leachate per month and garnering more than 2,000 complaints monthly due to its smell.
The community meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Castaic Library, which is located at 27971 Sloan Canyon Road. The meeting can also be viewed here: bit.ly/3VrcymL.
