The California State Auditor issued a report Tuesday criticizing the L.A. County Department of Public Health’s handling of the environmental crisis at Chiquita Canyon Landfill, a facility targeted by thousands of people in an ongoing lawsuit over health concerns.
Residents have complained about a lack of understanding and clear information about the problems at Chiquita Canyon Landfill since 2023, while county, state and federal regulators have worked to determine the problem. There’s been no official root cause given. And Chiquita has challenged regulators’ reports numerous times.
Since the issues actually began in May 2022, Chiquita Canyon Landfill has seen the underground incident grow from about 40 acres to more than double that size, producing more than 1 million gallons of leachate per week and overwhelming odors. A recent estimate is that it could take decades to resolve.
In reviewing the county’s incident response, the state found that county Public Health “could not demonstrate to us that it had consistently reviewed specific air quality data and did not communicate proactively with the communities surrounding the landfill about the data,” according to a letter Tuesday to the governor and leaders of the Legislature.
“LADPH also lacks an up-to-date understanding of community members’ health conditions because it has generally stopped collecting or receiving symptom reports from community members,” according to the audit’s letter. “We determined that LADPH took nearly two years to direct the landfill operator to provide funding for temporary relocation and that LADPH could not provide a sufficient reason for why it did not act sooner.”
The state also reported that “in general, we determined that LADPH’s actions in response to these conditions have been incomplete and that establishing internal safeguards could help LADPH improve future responses to health hazards.”
L.A. County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley, issued a statement Wednesday in response, acknowledging the need for relief for Castaic and Val Verde residents. The statement referred to the state’s audit as containing “important findings,” according to an email from Helen Chavez Garcia, Barger’s assistant chief deputy.
“The report includes important findings, and I take them seriously. It also found that the county’s enforcement orders to Chiquita were reasonable and timely. In an incident this complex, I believe in letting subject matter experts lead, and Los Angeles County Public Health is working alongside state and federal agencies as part of a broader, multidisciplinary response. My focus remains on holding Chiquita accountable, including through the county’s active litigation, and on keeping this community fully informed.”
John Musella, a spokesman for Chiquita Canyon Landfill, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, has authored two laws in response to Chiquita Canyon’s problems: the Landfill Safety Act, Assembly Bill 28, and the Landfill Data Transparency Act, AB 2674. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed both bills into law.
The first law requires temperature monitoring intended to detect an incident like Chiquita’s much earlier and creates requirements for addressing temperature thresholds. The second law requires state air regulators to post temperature and monitoring data.
Schiavo issued a statement Wednesday saying the state’s response validated her concerns about the county’s response, which she said she has heard from residents for years.
“This audit confirms what residents have been telling us for years: The response to this public health crisis has not matched the seriousness of what families are experiencing. When people are reporting serious health concerns — cancer clusters, tremors, miscarriages, inability to breathe — they deserve a health department that steps up to investigate, inform and protect them. The L.A. County Department of Public Health has fallen short on all fronts,” said Schiavo. “I’ve been pushing for a real health study on a nearly monthly basis for two years.”
