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Assembly committee advances Chiquita Canyon landfill-fire bill after residents describe years-long harm
Summary
Assemblymember Schiavo said AB 28 would require landfill operators to monitor subsurface temperatures and to report elevated readings so agencies can coordinate responses to prevent or control subsurface fires.
Assemblymember Schiavo introduced AB 28, the Landfill Fire Safety Act, saying the measure is designed to prevent events like the multi-year subsurface fire at Chiquita Canyon Landfill and to hold negligent operators accountable.
Schiavo described the Chiquita Canyon event as a ‘‘subsurface elevated temperature event’’ that has burned for more than three years and grown from about 30 acres to roughly 90 acres. “This is a public health bridal that’s affecting residents within a 5 mile radius or more,” Schiavo said, and she outlined proposed requirements for monitoring, reporting, and multi-agency coordination if elevated temperatures are detected.
Multiple residents from Castaic and Val Verde traveled to Sacramento to testify. Elizabeth Jeffords, who identified herself as a resident who once thought her house would be a ‘‘forever home,’’ described a constellation of symptoms including nosebleeds, vertigo, tremors and chronic fatigue that she and neighbors link to the landfill smoke and emissions. “I started to get extremely sick,” Jeffords said. “Now all I do is the fatigue is settled in and there’s nothing else to do.”
Other residents gave testimonials about miscarriages, nosebleeds in children, dying bees and pets, and other chronic health effects. One witness said local health surveys and county-level cancer statistics were blunt instruments that did not capture neighborhood clusters.
Operators and industry groups including Republic Services, county representatives and waste industry trade associations opposed the measure in part because, they said, the root cause of the Chiquita event is not yet fully known and a statewide statutory fix could impose costs across roughly 200 active landfills. A Republic Services representative said the bill prescribes remedies before the causes are known and asked for a study and report by regulatory agencies before statutory mandates are imposed.
Assemblymember Schiavo accepted committee amendments that narrow and clarify the bill’s reporting and response requirements and said she is continuing to work with agencies and stakeholders. The committee voted to give the bill a due-pass recommendation to the appropriations committee.
