THE SIGNAL

“Embattled Chiquita Canyon Landfill closes’”

“Just two months after successfully defending a lawsuit in order to stay open, Chiquita Canyon Landfill announced in a letter sent via email on New Year’s Eve that it would be stopping operations, effective Wednesday.”

One of those leading the effort on behalf of residents, Oshea Orchid, a Castaic Area Town Council member and attorney suing the landfill, called news of the letter an “amazing thing for the new year,” in a phone interview Friday.

“This is obviously the first step in the right direction,” Orchid said Tuesday. “We’ve known for a long time that it’s irresponsible for them to continue to take trash with the ongoing problem at the landfill, and with the landfill recognizing the problem and realizing they can no longer take trash, this means we can now focus all effort on cleaning up the reaction and getting the situation under control.”

The move marks the latest turn in the relationship between Los Angeles County and Chiquita Canyon, which has seemed to change since the Oct. 4 victory for Chiquita, when L.A. County counsel was sitting next to Chiquita’s attorneys. Residents sued both entities seeking to remove the landfill’s county operating permit.

In response to the October ruling by Judge Stephen Goorvitch, who didn’t find a legal basis to remove the county’s ability to grant operating permits for its landfills, the county issued a statement expressing concern, but also “validation” of its dutiful oversight.

“The court’s ruling is simply validation that Los Angeles County is dutifully overseeing the terms of the landfill’s conditional use permit for areas actively receiving waste,” according to a statement issued via email by Helen Chavez, spokeswoman for 5th District L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, back in October. “But make no mistake — the community’s suffering is real, and needs continued and urgent attention.”