The discussion around Chiquita Canyon Landfill’s latest plan to address a leachate spill drew another violation but no financial penalty for the landfill, which closed off local assistance for impacted residents months ago despite multiple indicators the problems are worsening.
The landfill’s “cleanup” action reported from a Nov. 14 spill — shared during the recent monthly community meeting for residents impacted by the facility’s “elevated temperature event” — was the latest source of concern. The facility’s answer was to let the liquid evaporate.
The landfill blamed its own crew for an “operator error” that put more than 7,900 gallons of untreated leachate into an unlined ravine “not yet connected to the leachate collection system,” according to an email shared with The Signal from Kate Logan. Logan is a senior remediation project manager, who recently took over for Waste Connections’ longtime general manager of the site, Steve Cassulo.
Essentially, a worker released an unconnected valve, and thousands of gallons spilled before it was caught.
Logan’s report to the Chiquita Canyon Landfill Community Advisory Committee, part of the landfill’s abatement order, states the conditions are too difficult to access the leachate where it spilled, because of where it leaked down a 15% grade and a “sharp drop.”
“As such, it is impossible to get tanker trucks, vacuum trucks and other cleanup equipment in near enough proximity to the east sedimentation basin to pump out the liquid or otherwise perform cleanup efforts,” according to the email. “Therefore, Chiquita plans to allow the liquid in the basin to evaporate. Chiquita will develop and implement a sampling and analysis plan for the remaining soil once the liquid has evaporated. This plan will ensure that the soil is properly tested and disposed. Once finalized, Chiquita will share the plan with regulators.”
State regulators working on the landfill response, who declined repeated requests for a phone interview Wednesday and Thursday, issued a statement Thursday evening regarding the response from the multiagency task force that’s overseeing problems at the landfill. The statement indicated the soil had been tested.
“Chiquita Canyon Landfill took six samples of the pond after the release occurred on Nov. 14. Benzene was not detected in any of the samples. (The Department of Toxic Substances Control) issued violations to the landfill on Nov. 18, which included a violation for the leachate release,” according to the statement, which was sent by Albert Lundeen, deputy director for the DTSC’s office of communications.
In response to questions about any penalties the landfill might have faced, he mentioned a “bigger picture,” referring to the multi-agency task force that’s been working on the problems for more than 18 months.
“DTSC will continue to strongly support this top-to-bottom regulatory response to storage, treatment and disposal of leachate,” he added, referring to an Imminent and Substantial Endangerment Order to Waste Connections Inc. and its affiliated and parent companies to cover the site, move tanks and install barriers.
“Violations of that order and any other California laws will cause further action such as financial penalties consistent with all requirements under law. DTSC will continue to work aggressively with all regulators to protect the impacted communities and take all actions necessary to protect the public,” he wrote.
State officials confirmed Thursday that despite two years of complaints and violations, there have been no fines issued to date against the landfill for its problems. The number of substantiated air complaints alone for the facility is in excess of 30,000.
The problems at Chiquita Canyon Landfill actually have been worsening over the past two years since regulators began monitoring them, according to the multiagency task force and state officials working on the issues. The reaction area has tripled in size, and neither leachate production nor reaction temperature have shown significant changes, which are two major indicators.
The landfill shut down its community assistance program in February amid claims the situation has improved, citing reports that were later criticized by regulators.
To put the amount of the latest leachate spill into scale, the average swimming pool contains about 20,000 gallons of water.
Regular spill reports dating back to September 2024, which is when they began to be compulsory, indicate the landfill has spilled upward of 20,000 gallons, with exact figures being difficult to ascertain, as many of the report entries contain ranges such as “up to 1,000 gallons” or “20-40 gallons.”
On Wednesday, Logan declined to answer any questions about the incident or the status of the cleanup without first consulting the landfill’s legal counsel. A call was not returned as of this story’s publication.
An employee of a business in the Valencia Commerce Center, a business park with offices on Avenue Penn, northeast of the landfill, reached out to The Signal on Wednesday with concern.
Forbes Black said that, Tuesday and Wednesday, the smell was as bad as it’s ever been since the landfill’s problems started a couple of years ago.
It lingered inside the building for a couple of hours on more than one occasion over the past two days, before the winds seemed to have shifted and brought it away, he said. The smell lasted longer indoors where there was less air movement, he added.
A lawsuit that now involves thousands of area residents continues in the courts but is likely at least a year or two away from completing the release of evidence to both sides due to the sheer number of plaintiffs, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, meets regularly with the task force working on Chiquita Canyon Landfill as part of the effort to support her legislation on the issue, Assembly Bill 28. The legislation would create penalties for landfills that don’t address the types of temperature exceedances being blamed for the problems at Chiquita.
Schiavo said state regulators are “in the same mindset” of the residents in terms of their frustration with the landfill and attempts to create accountability.
Schiavo also said that state regulators are doing their homework, and she hoped there could be additional regulatory actions next year.
“These are folks who have been hearing stories and public comments from people in the community for two-plus years now. And everybody is beside themselves,” Schiavo said in a phone call Wednesday. “I mean, the folks from these agencies really care and are worried about folks in the community, and so, to their credit, they are really frustrated with the situation as well.”
A video of the Dec. 9 meeting of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill Community Advisory Committee is available here: bit.ly/3L7KZwD.
