Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County release Draft Environmental Impact Report for Puente Hills landfill
The landfill, located at 2800 Workman Mill Rd., Whittier, is currently operating under permits which expire in November 2003. Continued operation will allow the remaining capacity of approximately 38 million tons, to be utilized over approximately 10 years at the current level of operation.
The amount of solid waste received for disposal each day would remain at current levels. The proposed landfill design would not involve lateral expansion into undisturbed native areas. Refuse placement would only occur above existing permitted fill and previously disturbed areas.
In addition to disposal capacity, the landfill provides several recycling programs to help cities meet the state mandates of AB 939. These programs divert approximately 2,000 tons per day of green waste (grass and tree clippings), asphalt, dirt, treated waste-to-energy ash, tires and appliances.
More than 60 cities are dependent on the Green Waste Recycling Program to meet AB 939 diversion goals since it is the most cost-effective recycling market available for this material.
The Draft EIR is an analysis of potential environmental impacts of the landfill's continued operation. The release of the Draft EIR begins a 90-day comment period. Copies of the Draft EIR will be available in libraries in Hacienda Heights, Norwalk and Torrance, and at the Sanitation Districts' Joint Administration Office in Whittier for review by interested agencies and the public.
The executive summary will also appear on the Districts' Web site: www.lacsd.org.
Since 1994, the Districts have participated in an innovative program to purchase and preserve natural areas in the vicinity of the Puente Hills Landfill. A portion of the tipping fee is set aside to fund the acquisition and maintenance of native habitat areas.
The Puente Hills Landfill Native Habitat Preservation Authority (Habitat Authority) was established to govern the program in the county's 1993 permit for the landfill. The current operation will provide approximately $34 million to the Habitat Authority, which manages a total of approximately 2,400 acres. Repermitting to allow continued operation of the landfill will provide for additional funding.
"Repermitting the Puente Hills Landfill is critical to continuing this important program which preserves valuable native habitat for the enjoyment of all of the residents in Los Angeles County," added Jim Stahl, chief engineer and general manager for the Districts.
The landfill is essential to the development of, and transition to, waste-by-rail which is necessary to meet the long-term waste management needs of the county. The design of a 4,000 tons per day materials recovery and rail loading facility (MRF) at the landfill is currently underway.
The MRF will serve initially as a departure point for transfer by truck to regional landfills and eventually as the point of containerization for transport to remote desert landfills as in-county sites are exhausted. The repermitting of the landfill will reduce the initial cost, as well as manage the transition to the higher cost of rail haul by levelizing the MRF fees with the landfill fees.
The Puente Hills Landfill provides environmentally safe disposal for a maximum average of 12,000 tons per day, which is approximately one third of the daily waste disposal total for Los Angeles County. Since adequate alternative capacity does not exist to accommodate waste from jurisdictions which the Puente Hills Landfill currently serves, its closure could cause serious public health and economic impacts.
"Repermitting the landfill would represent a cost savings to residents and businesses in Los Angeles County of a minimum $1.4 billion when compared with the higher cost of waste-by-rail," said Stahl.
The Districts are a group of 25 independent special districts serving the wastewater and solid waste management needs of about 5 million people in Los Angeles County. The Districts' service area includes 78 cities and unincorporated territory within the county.
The role of the Districts is to construct, operate and maintain regional systems to collect, treat and dispose of wastewater and to provide for management of solid wastes. The directors of the 25 separate districts are the mayors of the cities within a district and the chairperson of the County Board of Supervisors for unincorporated areas.
Source: Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County
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