For nearly three years, I have stood with the families living next to the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. I’ve walked their neighborhoods, listened to their stories and experienced firsthand what no family should ever have to endure.
I even spent the night at a neighbor’s home and camped outside another’s so I could witness what they have been living with every day. Those experiences led me to author several bills, including the Landfill Safety Act (Assembly Bill 28), because no Californian should have to sacrifice their health simply because of where they live.
And today, our community living near the landfill is facing yet another crisis.
Waste Connections, the operator of the landfill, has been required to remove the protective cover and open up the hillside to prevent a catastrophic landslide of liquefied waste. This excavation will release more toxic air than ever before.
While this is needed work, the construction itself is making an already unbearable situation even worse. Families have reported an immediate increase in toxic odors causing bloody noses, headaches, nausea, eye irritation, and trouble breathing since excavation began, with little notice and without enough protections in place.
That is unacceptable.
That’s why I led the urgent call, in conjunction with community members and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, for immediate action from Waste Connections to provide meaningful relief for impacted residents.
Our community cannot wait until this work is complete before a plan is developed. Families need support now.
No one has been more relentless in this fight than the residents themselves.
Jennifer, a mom of three and a Val Verde resident, has been one of the strongest voices pushing for accountability. She has worked alongside me on AB 28, testified before policymakers, and never stopped advocating for her neighbors.
I wanted to share her words because they remind us what is truly at stake:
“When Pilar first came to my home and spent the night, she didn’t come for a photo opportunity — she came because she wanted to understand what our families were living through. She experienced the odors, saw how impossible it is to escape them, and listened as neighbors shared how our lives have been turned upside down. She saw the impacts herself, including a near-immediate headache, waking up with a bloody nose, and ringing in her ears that continued over a year later.
“Since then, we’ve worked on Assembly Bill 28 — the Landfill Safety Act — and many other actions because our community deserves stronger protections, transparency, and accountability. But now, as excavation work has intensified, many of us are once again feeling even sicker. Families are waking up with headaches. Children can’t play outside. Many of us are trapped like prisoners inside our own homes. The odors and toxic air are getting into my neighbor’s homes in the middle of the night, waking them from their sleep. My own kids once again have increased bloody noses. And with school about to start, we are incredibly worried about what’s to come.
“We understand that safety work at the landfill is necessary, but that doesn’t mean our community should be left to bear the consequences. We need real protections, immediate relief, and leaders who continue fighting for us until this crisis is over. I’m grateful that Pilar has been the strongest voice fighting for our community. She never stopped standing with us. And once again she stood with us to call on Chiquita Canyon Landfill and Waste Connections to put the needed protections in place so my family and all of our neighbors can escape the toxic air being released and making us sick. We need to be able to live safely through this dangerous construction.”
Jennifer’s story reflects what I have heard from countless families throughout Val Verde and Castaic. And that’s why I will continue fighting for immediate relief, stronger oversight, and long-term solutions through legislation, press conferences, demand letters, and frankly, every tool available to me.
Our neighbors living near Chiquita Canyon Landfill deserve clean air, safe homes, and the peace of mind that comes from knowing their government will stand with them and step up and protect them. I won’t stop until they are safe.
Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, represents the 40th Assembly District, which includes most of the Santa Clarita Valley in addition to the northwest San Fernando Valley. “Democratic Voices” appears Tuesdays and rotates among local Democrats.
