News release
Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, camped outside for 24 hours next to the 90-acre underground fire at Chiquita Canyon Landfill to shine a light on the ongoing public health disaster harming families across Val Verde, Castaic and Santa Clarita, according to a news release from the assemblywoman’s office.
Joined by Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, Schiavo spent the night in the front yard of Brandi Howse, a local mother whose family has suffered health issues including five miscarriages, chronic nosebleeds in her son, and recent stage three breast cancer treatment, the release said.
Three of Howse’s immediate neighbors also have cancer, the release said, adding that, across Howse’s small street, nearly a dozen people have been diagnosed with serious illnesses.
“We slept outside in the same toxic air these families have been breathing every day for at least three years,” Schiavo said in the release. “Within an hour, I started experiencing intense symptoms — a pounding headache, burning eyes, a sore and raspy throat, overwhelming fatigue, ringing in my ears, and severe nausea. These aren’t just symptoms you can ignore. They’re what so many families are suffering through every single day.”
The underground fire at the landfill has now tripled in size, from 30 to 90 acres and growing, and is now expected to burn for multiple decades, the release said. It continues to release cancer-causing chemicals, produce millions of gallons of leachate (a toxic black sludge), and blanket neighborhoods in noxious fumes. Residents report a range of serious health issues: tremors, nosebleeds, blistering headaches and respiratory distress.
“My experience of camping for almost 24 hours next to the landfill convinced me even more firmly that people living close to that landfill need to be relocated,” Williams said in the release. “I had headaches, a sore throat, burning skin and eyes, nausea, and ear pain. I can’t imagine what it’s like living there day and day out. The EPA confirmed this is the worst ongoing chemical disaster in U.S. history. It’s beyond time for direct actions for these families who have already suffered for far too long.”
The release said the weekend campout was intended to serve as a call to every state, local and federal agency with the authority to step in to declare a state of emergency, order relocation, and hold Chiquita Canyon Landfill and its $50 billion parent company Waste Connections accountable in the absence of their support to address the suffering the burning landfill is causing.
Last week, the L.A. County Department of Public Health issued a directive for Waste Connections to resume temporary relocation and home-hardening assistance.
“Anything short of implementing relocation for the most impacted families is not enough,” Schiavo said in the release. “We need more than slow-moving lawsuits and directives. A lawsuit takes years. These families are sick now. Children are bleeding uncontrollably from their noses, having irregular heart rates, and respiratory issues. Families are being poisoned. Workers are becoming disabled and unable to work, even losing homes. Delay is negligent and further harms those we should be stepping in to protect.”
Schiavo has introduced two bills and a budget request in response to the landfill crisis. The release summarized them as follows:
● The Landfill Safety Act (Assembly Bill 28) – Strengthens oversight of landfills, requires earlier warnings, mandates corrective actions, and imposes penalties of up to one million dollars a week to fund relief and relocation for impacted communities.
● The Chiquita Canyon Tax Relief Act (AB 27) – Ensures that families receiving relief funds do not face tax penalties or risk losing essential benefits like Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or disability assistance.
● Budget request: $25 million relocation assistance. This budget request would support relocation and home hardening assistance for impacted neighbors.
Schiavo added: “We’ve introduced legislation, called for emergency declarations, and pushed state and local responsible agencies to act. While there has been a robust response on the landfill itself, the solutions simply haven’t worked and the fire has tripled to 90 acres. We know this is a long-term disaster that will burn for 20 or more years and we cannot accept more delay while families grow sicker.”
