An agreement was reached Wednesday with the operators of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill and the South Coast Air Quality Management District that would allow the landfill to continue operations.
The agreement includes the installation of community monitors in and around the landfill within 75 days, as well as 24-hour sampling conducted three times a week until those monitors are installed.
The agreement also requires the landfill to reveal what is causing the foul odor that led a group of residents to file a class-action lawsuit in August.
Experts believe that the odors are coming from smoldering reactions below the surface of the garbage. One of the odors is believed to be dimethyl sulfide and the other is leachate.
Larry Israel, a senior inspector of the AQMD, during the two-day hearing, that leachate is a “significant factor in contributing odors.” He also described the smell during the hearing.
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“It almost was like a just this putrid, almost like a port-a-potty type of odor which you would smell. It's pretty horrendous actually,” he said.
Sarah Olaquez, a resident in Val Verde which is near the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, told KNX News’ Jon Baird said she feels the hearings will not “shift anything” and that her kids are getting sick.
“They are getting more headaches and starting to have some adverse effects for this from the landfill exposure,” she said.
A status board hearing is being planned for April 24 or 25.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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