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Assembly hears urgent calls for more staff, grants as Chiquita Canyon continues underground fire
Summary
Lawmakers pressed CalEPA and CalRecycle on a $5.1 million, 12‑position budget request to respond to 'subsurface elevated temperature events' at landfills. Assemblymember Thiago described long‑running health harms in Chiquita Canyon and urged quicker, stronger state action and local assistance funding for impacted counties.
The subcommittee devoted substantial time to a budget change proposal that would add staffing and grants to respond to emerging "set events" at California landfills, including the long‑running Chiquita Canyon incident.
Brandy Hunt, deputy secretary for fiscal policy at CalEPA, outlined the request: $5,100,000 and 12 positions across CalEPA and board, department and office partners to strengthen detection, rapid response, technical assessment and state coordination. "Set events are an emerging environmental issue that can disrupt landfill operations," Hunt said, describing secondary community harms such as illegal dumping and…
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