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Noxious landfill in Castaic stops operating By Joe Taglieri joet@beaconmedianews.com
temperature landfill event), and will also continue working to maintain compliance with its permits, governing orders and agreements,” Cassulo wrote. A statement on the company’s website announcing the closure said the landfill will no longer accept waste effective Jan. 1 and Chiquita Canyon LLC “will continue to manage the landfill, including addressing the elevated temperature landfill event that is affecting the northwest corner of the landfill, as well as closure and post-closure activities. While active waste disposal operations will close, we remain committed to
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What I learned reporting in cities that take belongings from homeless people
working with federal, state and local regulators on the ongoing reaction mitigation efforts.” In a statement Tuesday, LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger said the company “will continue to manage the landfill, address the noxious odor incident occurring onsite and oversee closure and post-closure activities.” Barger, whose 5th District includes the landfill in Castaic, said “the closure of the landfill was expected so I’ve been monitoring this development closely. This
This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Series: Swept Away: When Cities Take Belongings From Vulnerable Residents More in this series On a May afternoon, Teresa Stratton sat on her walker near a freeway in Portland, Oregon, talking about how much she wanted to live inside. She missed sleeping uninterrupted in a bed and having running water. When you live outside, “the dirt embeds in your skin,” the 61-year-old said. “You have to pick it out, because it just doesn’t come out anymore.” Living inside would also mean no longer having her belongings repeatedly confiscated by crews the city hires to clear encampments. These encounters, commonly known as “sweeps,” are the “biggest letdown in the world,” she said, noting that she lost the ashes of her late husband to a sweep. Over the past year, my colleagues Ruth Talbot, Asia Fields, Maya Miller and I have investigated how cities have sometimes ignored their own policies and court orders, which has resulted in them taking homeless people’s belongings during encampment clearings. We also found that some cities have failed to store the property so it could be returned. People told us about local governments taking everything from tents and sleeping bags to journals, pictures and mementos. Even when cities are ordered to stop seizing belongings and to provide storage for the property they take, we found that people are rarely reunited with their possessions. The losses are traumatizing, can worsen health outcomes, and can make it harder for people like Stratton to find stability and get back inside. Our reporting is particularly relevant because cities have recently passed new camping bans or started enforcing ones already on the books following a Supreme Court decision in June that allows local officials to punish people for sleeping outside, even if shelter isn’t available. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to ban urban camping and “get the homeless off our streets,” by creating “tent cities” and by making it easier to institutionalize people with severe mental illness. “Our once-great cities have become unlivable, unsanitary nightmares, surrendered to the homeless, the drug addicted, and the violent and dangerously deranged. We are making many suffer for the whims of a deeply unwell few, and they are unwell indeed,” he said in a campaign video. But our reporting shows there are more effective and compassionate ways for cities to deal with these issues. The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness earlier this year released updated strategies for addressing encampments “humanely and effectively,” advising communities to treat encampment responses with the same urgency they would any other crises — such as tornadoes or wildfires. The council recommends providing 30 days’ notice before a removal and giving people two days to pack, unless there’s an urgent public health and safety issue. (Most cities don’t
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Liquids collect on scrim tarp and gas pillows at Chiquita Canyon Landfill on Jan. 18, 2024. | Photo courtesy of the U.S. EPA
“Chiquita had wished to maintain its crucial role in the community’s solid wastemanagement system, but has made the difficult decision to close its active waste disposal operations,” Steve Cassulo, Chiquita Canyon LLC district manager, wrote in the email. “Although Chiquita has available airspace, due to the current regulatory environment, maintaining ongoing operations at Chiquita is no longer economically viable. Chiquita remains committed to working with federal, state, regional and local authorities to protect public health and to continue addressing the (elevated
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By Nicole Santa Cruz, ProPublica
T
he Chiquita Canyon Landfill ceased waste disposal operations Wednesday, following years of nearby residents’ complaints of health problems resulting from foul odors and pollution emanating from the 639-acre site in north Los Angeles County. The county filed a federal lawsuit against Chiquita Canyon LLC in December over the continued noxious emissions. In October, a group of area residents also sued, alleging the company failed to properly manage gas capture, control systems and leachate systems. Leachate is polluted liquid that results when rainwater filters through piles of solid waste. Surrounding communities were exposed to the emission of harmfully elevated levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic gases, creating unsafe living conditions for thousands of people, the residents’ suit alleges. In 2023 alone, landfill neighbors filed 13,000 odor complaints, according to the October suit’s court filing. Residents have reported headaches, nausea, respiratory issues and the inability to enjoy use of their properties due to the offensive smells, plaintiffs contend. According to landfill officials, odors from the facility are from “an abnormal biotic or abiotic process, also known as a landfill reaction, taking place deep within a lined but older and inactive portion of the landfill waste mess.” The landfill’s operators announced plans to halt operations in an email sent to area residents that said the facility was “no longer economically viable,” according to the email obtained by the Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
Cedars-Sinai receives $10M gift to advance health care goals