The City of Calabasas has pursued two avenues to forestall the dumping of toxic waste from the Palisades Fire at the Calabasas Landfill.
They went to both the courts and the county – and both efforts were denied.
Residents, community leaders and city officials showed up this week at the county courthouse and the Board of Supervisors meeting.
The City filed for a petition for writ of mandate and temporary restraining order with the Superior Court, preventing the disposal of any fire debris at the landfill until the court decides the petition.
Judge Stephen I. Goorvitch denied the application, saying “While the court understands and sympathizes with the concerns of the City and its residents, the court now denies this ex parte application…Petitioner does not demonstrate that the cleanup plan will necessarily violate the terms the permit or applicable laws governing the Calabasas Landfill. Nor does Petitioner demonstrate that the court has clear authority to prevent the County from accepting fire debris that the federal government has determined to be non-hazardous.”
At all City Council meetings, protests and the Board of Supervisors meeting, those opposed to the fire debris going into the landfill argued the same thing – there is no way to know if the waste is toxic until it is tested.
The plan to remove fire debris and distribute it to local landfills was made quickly, and no testing has been done on the material being brought to Calabasas.
Calabasas Mayor Peter Kraut argued before the supervisors that partially burned debris may contain asbestos, mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium and a variety of other dangerous chemicals. “These materials cannot easily be removed from charred debris, suggesting the ability to truly isolate and remove hazardous waste from non-hazardous waste is nearly impossible,” he told the board. “We have been made aware that workers loading fire debris at the burn site are wearing PPE to protect themselves from hazardous and toxic material, but workers at the landfill are not. If there is a concern that workers at the burn site might be exposed to hazardous materials, it is only logical to assume that our landfill workers, and subsequently residents, would be exposed as well.”
One angry resident told the supervisors, “If you truly believe this is not hazardous – each of you on the board accept a few truckloads of fire debris in your own homes and store it in your own backyard because that is essentially what you are asking us to do.”
Councilmember Alicia Weintraub spoke at the Board meeting, saying, “The City of Calabasas is very troubled by lack of transparency in picking the Calabasas landfill. We were not informed and were only told of the decision by a resident on January 25. We were not told about the increase in tonnage or wasteshed. Calabasas residents and friends in neighboring communities have not had a voice. Disposing of debris jeopardizes health and well being.”
Members of the grassroots Protect Calabasas organization, which is also filing its own lawsuit to stop the debris, argued that this was a “quick fix and the County needs to explore other options.” They argued that this was not a “nimby” issue – they don’t want any fire debris in any landfill near homes, parks or schools.
Natasha Downing of Protect Calabasas said, “The response from Lindsey Horvath is not satisfactory. The role of elected officials is to protect; that’s not happening here. The L.A. Times reports corners are being cut. Stop cutting corners and send toxic debris to remote communities – away from residential communities.”
The general concern of residents is about health conditions years down the line, similar to what happened to first responders after 911 who became ill years later.
Councilman Ed Albrecht said,
“We recognize the gravity and severity, and our hearts go out to those affected. But let’s not create a second disaster on the heels of the first.”
Supervisor Horvath responded to all comments, saying “We acknowledge everything we heard today. We really have been listening.”
However, the board went ahead and voted unanimously to allow the expansion of the tonnage and wasteshed outside the limits – allowing the fire debris to be brought to Calabasas.
