Los Angeles County sued the owners and operators of Chiquita Canyon Landfill on Dec. 16, alleging that the landfill has failed to contain a horrendous stench that residents say is making them sick.
Since at least 2022, the toxic stew has been simmering at high temperatures, building pressure, and getting larger.
The complaint includes claims for public nuisance and violations of the Los Angeles County Code, and seeks an injunction to stop the noxious emissions, relocation of nearby residents until the reaction is contained, and civil penalties for the defendants’ alleged ongoing violations of environmental and public health laws.
Chiquita Canyon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The landfill is about 50 miles north of downtown Los Angeles in rural Val Verde, a community of 2,399 people. Residents complain of toxic odors from the landfill forcing them to stay indoors and keeping their windows and doors shut lest they become sick.
The landfill said chemicals have been stabilized by mitigation efforts and recent samplings show no anticipated toxicological or health impacts. Experts hired by the company argue that acute and chronic symptoms experienced by residents are physiological reactions to the odors, not health reactions.
Many locals want to see the landfill closed, which could happen if county officials decline to renew the company’s operating permit. Waste Connections Inc., which is based in Texas, has sued the county in the past and is threatening to do so again if forced to close.
The operators say the chemical reaction, described as an “oxidation event” underground, could take as long as 10 years to subside.
The EPA in December 2023 said leachate production grew to more than 1 million gallons per week with harmful amounts of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and benzene, all having been released into the atmosphere.
In February, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control issued the landfill numerous violations, including for unauthorized disposal, storage, and treatment of hazardous waste, as well as for not minimizing possible impacts. The L.A. County Department of Public Health declared the landfill a public nuisance due to the levels of benzene and carbon tetrachloride emanating from the site.
Waste Connections hosted community meetings on Oct. 10 and Nov. 7, where landfill representatives discussed the installation of more than 40 acres of a geosynthetic cover to mask the odors, as well as more than 250 new or replacement wells to remove gas and liquid from the reactive area.
Neal Bolton, a civil engineer and landfill expert contracted by Chiquita Canyon, testified at a Nov. 13 Air Quality Management District hearing that the elimination of odors in remediation areas, and a decrease in leachate seeps and leaks, reduced gushers to “relatively small” leaks of a few gallons in problem areas.
Furthermore, he said the placement of a geothermal membrane—a white, heat-protectant plastic cover that Chiquita Canyon installed over 46 acres of reactive area—should reduce odorous emissions when completed. In the meantime, Chiquita Canyon reported numerous hazardous leachate leaks and seepages throughout October and November.
A report released by the county in February found the VOCs benzene and carbon tetrachloride in increased levels during continuous air monitoring of the area, suggesting that “there may be a small contribution of benzene” from the landfill degrading local air quality.
The Southern California Air Quality Management District Board (AQMD) issued a new order requiring the landfill to comply with a stricter set of measures to reduce odors and mitigate impacts.
At the Nov. 13 hearing, Lawrence Israel, an enforcement and compliance inspector with AQMD, testified the district averaged about 1,500 to 2,000 complaints per month in 2024. It issued about 20 notices of violation to the landfill each month.
Stephen Dutz, lab manager for the district’s monitoring and analysis division, reported recent air quality samples found benzene and acrolein to be above expected background levels, with at least one sample nearing the federal government’s acute reference exposure limit.
“It definitely warrants further investigation,” Dutz said.
Chiquita Canyon called toxicologists as witnesses who testified there were no risks of adverse health impacts due to exposure to the odorants.
“Concentrations of the chemicals we found were not above the health-protected values,” said Pablo Sanchez-Soria, noting they were in line with levels found across the L.A. basin.
The chemical reaction at Chiquita Canyon is happening deep underground in a supposedly dormant part of the landfill. Lynne Plambeck, president of Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment, a volunteer organization involved in the landfill issue since 1995, said residents have long accused the company of continuing to dump in the area they had been told was no longer in use.
“This has been going on for decades, it’s just gotten worse—much worse,” she previously told The Epoch Times.
Plambeck suggested radioactive waste, soils with VOCs, or the combination of certain compounds such as ash and auto shredder waste, could create or contribute to the present chemical reaction, and that nobody actually knows for certain.
The judge also disallowed claims for punitive damages and otherwise denied Chiquita Canyon’s motion to dismiss, paving the way for Jackie Kruger, a Beverly Hills attorney representing more than 1,000 other residents, and other attorneys to proceed with their claims.
Chiquita Canyon was slated to permanently close when it reached 23 million tons, or by November 2019—whichever came first. In 2016, the landfill began negotiating with the county to stay open for another 30 years, and nearly tripled the tonnage limit to 60 million.
