Castaic and Val Verde residents have claimed at least a partial victory in what’s expected to be a yearslong legal fight against Chiquita Canyon Landfill.
Residents near the landfill have been plagued for years by a “noxious reaction,” a public nuisance residents say is forcing them to move. Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction on their behalf in December. The county’s complaint sought $4,000 a month for relocation funds for almost 950 households for about six months, which comes to a little over $22 million.
Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong ordered both sides to meet file a joint plan aimed at “more narrowly tailoring the injunction with respect to: the households to be included; the availability of relocation versus home hardening; and the duration of any relocation,” according to a ruling released late Friday afternoon.
Fifth District L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger described the decision as “a meaningful step toward relief for families who have endured months of hardship,” in a statement sent Friday evening from Helen Chavez, her director of communications.
“This ruling is an important victory for the residents who have suffered from the persistent odors caused by the Chiquita Canyon Landfill,” Barger wrote. “It sends a clear message that the county’s legal efforts are an effective and lasting lever for relief and change. Most importantly, this decision moves us closer to bringing much-needed relief to the communities I represent.”
Oshea Orchid, a partner with Sethi Orchid Miner LLP who represents thousands of clients in a separate civil action seeking damages against the landfill, said she was grateful for Frimpong’s efforts in her ruling.
She credited Frimpong with visiting the community and really listening to residents’ testimony.
Orchid said, based on the ruling, when both sides meet, the factors considered in the award for residents will be: the number of households that filed a complaint with relevant government agencies for the odors; which households submitted complaints and where they were located; any results from any additional surveys or questionnaires; the reported severity and pervasiveness of the odors in the neighborhoods where the residents filed air quality complaints; and the recency of the complaints filed.
A spokesman for Chiquita Canyon Landfill, which is owned by Waste Connections, shared a statement Friday sharing the landfill’s disappointment in parts of the decision but expressing gratitude that Frimpong agreed with the landfill that $20 million should not be added immediately to the relief fund.
There were also certain areas where “the county’s evidence is admittedly limited,” particularly with respect to survey data needed to establish health impacts, according to Frimpong’s decision, which she noted was not final.
“At this point, Chiquita has not been ordered to make any payments to the county, and the court has directed the parties to provide further briefing on issues including the extent of odors near the landfill and their impacts or lack of impacts,” read an email early Friday evening from landfill spokesman John Musella. “Only after that briefing is received will a final decision be made.”
Frimpong did make several key findings in her decision, namely: “Despite the limits (on the evidence of health impacts), the county has shown imminent, irreparable harm,” and “the county has shown that the balance of equities tips on its favor and that temporary relocation and/or home hardening is in the public interest.”
Despite the good news, Abigail DeSesa, a member of the Castaic Area Town Council and participant in the lawsuit against the landfill, speaking in her role as a resident, described a wait-and-see approach for what comes next.
“It appears to be a partial victory,” she said in a message Friday on social media, “but we do not know for sure until more specific information is shared with us residents.”
