Val Verde Community Continues Suit Against L.A. County, Chiquita Canyon Landfill Over Environmental Concerns

A judge heard arguments from the Val Verde community in a lawsuit against County of Los Angeles and Chiquita Canyon Landfill in their ongoing battle to shut down the waste facility due to toxic fumes.

Since May 2022, an underground chemical fire at the landfill has generated noxious odors , hazardous leachate, and elevated levels of benzene. As a result, tens of thousands of complaints have been filed by residents citing respiratory issues, eye irritation, nausea, and more.

“This is environmental injustice. The County has absolutely failed the community of Val Verde,” said a resident during a press conference outside the courthouse Wednesday. “The people of Val Verde have been suffering for years, Castaic and the greater community are starting to suffer, and it’s possible that the entire county of Los Angeles may suffer.”

Judge Stephen Goorvitch heard arguments on whether affected citizens have the right to challenge the County permitting and approving the Landfill to store, treat, dispose of, and otherwise handle hazardous waste without an environmental impact report or consideration of mitigation measures or alternatives.

“Chiquita is pleased that Judge Goorvitch continues to pay close attention to the issues related to this case,” said Chiquita Canyon spokesperson John Musella.

Goorvitch previously ruled in June that the conditional use permit granted to the landfill in 2017 could not be challenged.

Oshea Orchid, a Castaic Area Town Council member and attorney, was joined by other community members and representatives from local offices, including Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo , D-Chatsworth.

“It’s unfortunate that it has come to this – where families in our community are so desperate for action, they are forced to take the extreme measure of suing their local government to try to force Los Angeles County to protect them from the noxious and harmful fumes coming from Chiquita Canyon Landfill,” Assemblywoman Schiavo said. “I’ve called for an emergency proclamation from the State, but the critical first step needed now is for L.A. County to declare an emergency and act with urgency. The State has been taking urgent action within its authority, such as the L.A. Water Board’s decision today not to allow the landfill to expand operations. It’s time for L.A. County, as the lead agency over the landfill, to declare an emergency and ask the state for support so we have all possible tools available to us to protect public and environmental health. We must treat this disaster with the urgency our community deserves.”

On Wednesday, the state Water Quality Control Board sent a letter to Chiquita Canyon Landfill District Manager , Steve Cassulo, stating that the organization had denied a request to authorize the placement of waste in Cell 8B at Chiquita .

The Board also indicated that there were concerns regarding the structural integrity of the landfill, specifically the stability of some slopes in the northwestern part of the reaction area.

In a letter dated September 17, 2024, the LEA reported that the western slope toe of the Landfill moved twice within a year due to the reaction, which threatened the integrity of the Landfill’s leachate and surface drainage systems and possibly the bottom liner system.

“Given the heavy reliance on existing environmental control systems to contain landfill gases and extract leachate from the reaction mass, as well as the fact that these are the principal systems for mitigating the reaction, the integrity of these systems under both static and dynamic conditions is paramount,” the letter read.

In early September, Senator Scott Wilk called upon the California Governor’ s Office to take a tour of the Chiquita Canyon landfill, highlighting residents’ frustration with the slow progress and the dismissal of their concerns about long-term health effects.

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