Why the Sunshine Canyon Landfill is a Poor Choice to Store Urban Fire Debris
- wearealiso
- May 23
- 12 min read
Published on Medium.com on February 2, 2025
Now that the Los Angeles urban fires have been extinguished, officials and politicians have turned to resolving several issues. One immediate problem is how to dispose of the mountains of ash and the remains of the homes and businesses that were destroyed in January.
Normally, the process of removing debris would take several months as it’s a two-step process. First, hazardous material needs to be carefully separated from the nontoxic debris and sent to a landfill that is an established Class I facility. Then, the remaining material, including ash, could be gathered and disposed of at a Class III landfill.
On January 29th, President Trump ordered the cleanup to be completed in 30 days so that the rebuilding of homes could start. This would involve going through the remains of more than 16,000 structures destroyed in the two biggest fires in January per CalFire. Compare that to the Lahaina fire in 2023, which took the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) more than three months to remove toxic debris from 1448 buildings. His demand is certainly unrealistic and even irresponsible, just as his comments were regarding what he claimed was the cause of the fires.
The US Army Corps of Engineers said it could be 18 months before all the lots are cleared.
Unfortunately, his directive is forcing California’s Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to push for an accelerated timeline for accomplishing the cleanup.
In the meantime, Governor Newsom signed an executive order and released a press release regarding the next stages of recovery. Before Trump announced his directive, Newsom told NBC News that the environmental mitigation (clearing of debris) could take nine months to a year.
Mayor Karen Bass said that she had signed orders to expedite work but explained that there were necessary precautions to take to ensure the safety of residents.
Among officials calling for caution was the Department of Public Health’s second in command, Muntu Davis, who issued an emergency order on January 15th concerning the fire debris. The order warned about the harmful material formed when building materials burn along with paint, gasoline, cleaning products, pesticides, and other chemicals. These form a significant threat through the inhalation of dust particles and contamination of drinking water. Improper handling of these materials can expose workers to toxic chemicals. Plus, improper transport and disposal of the debris can spread the harmful substances throughout the community.
(For more information about the toxic materials released by the LA fires, please read my article in Medium, which contains links to two informative webinars and to other articles.)
Already the phase 1 process is a bone of contention for those who live near the sorting areas for the waste materials.
When the Malibu City Council convened a special meeting on February 3rd, the main concern of many in attendance focused on EPA and Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) proposal to place a staging area to temporarily house hazardous materials in the center of Malibu on Civic Center Way on a parcel known as the Bell property. Two days later, it was announced the sorting will be conducted at the parking lot at Will Rogers State Park instead.
The EPA found that the cleanup for the second biggest fire, the Eaton fire, would lead to controversy as well. The agency had selected Lario Park in Irwindale for the processing of material, a task they predicted would take about 30 days or more. From there, it will be transported to another site for safe disposal.
There are a limited number of designated Class I landfills that can accept hazardous waste per the Department of Toxic Substances Control. In Southern California, this would include the Kettleman Hills facility in Kings County and the Laidlow Buttonwillow site in Kern County.
As for the remaining debris, operators of many Southern California Class III landfills are eyeing the financial gain to be had in storing the debris.
One facility that will be out of the running is the Chiquita Canyon landfill in Castaic, which became the largest disposal facility in L.A. County in 2013. It was temporarily closed by the EPA in early 2024 due to a “heat-generating chemical reaction that probably began deep within the landfill in May of 2022,” which has posed a danger to nearby residents from the noxious odors and hazardous liquid waste. When it became clear that the site couldn’t stop the chemical reactions causing violations, the closure was made permanent as of December 31, 2024. This was after Los Angeles County announced a lawsuit alleging that Castaic residents have been sickened by noxious fumes and odors emanating from the site.
The nearby landfill is Sunshine Canyon, located in Sylmar, just south of Santa Clarita. Its owner, Browning-Ferris Industries/Republic Services Inc. (BFI/Republic), requested an emergency waiver from the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Local Enforcement Agency (SCL-LEA), which “provides the regulatory permitting, enforcement, and operational compliance oversight” for Cal Recycle (which falls under the state EPA). The SCL-LEA granted the waiver on January 27th to increase the daily and weekly tonnage limits the facility can accept as well as extend their hours of operation.
However, many residents living in Granada Hills and Sylmar feel Sunshine will be a poor choice for storing debris from the fires.
At the February 4th meeting of the Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council, approximately 100 residents filled the room, concerned about the effect of this storage on the community. When council president Brian Allen asked how many of the attendees were there to give public comment about the issue, just about everyone raised their hands.
After representatives from three elected officials (council member John Lee, county supervisor Lindsey Horvath, and state assembly member Pilar Schiavo) gave updates on actions taken in the last month concerning the disaster, the floor was opened for public comments after Allen said, “Everyone is concerned about this. We don’t know for sure what is going to happen.”
Residents commented on the various reasons why waste from the urban fires should not be sent to Sunshine. Many brought up that the facility is already problematic, a claim backed up by the numerous complaints called into the AQMD. In more than sixty years of the facility’s operation, the AQMD has received many odor complaints, which have resulted in numerous notices of violations. Between 2016 and January 2025, the AQMD noted 17,265 odor complaints, which have led to 379 NOVs.
The South Coast Air Management District has given the facility abatement orders in the past and was considering a new one in 2025. On its hearing board case calendar, there was going to be consideration of a short variance (companies that can comply with South Coast AQMD rules within 90 days or less should request a short variance) at the February 4th meeting, but that was “taken off calendar.” This variance was related to a problem the site had with power due to the Hurst fire that originated in Sylmar.
The consensus was that if the landfill can’t operate without causing problems such as odors, why should the populace trust the operators to be able to handle a massive increase of waste? There were also mentions of how the schools located downwind of Sunshine have been adversely affected by the noxious odors.
Also mentioned was that the site was located in a wind tunnel from the Santa Clarita Valley and from the upper desert so that any chemicals that are emitted from Sunshine will be blown south for quite a few miles. (One of the researchers on the UCLA study being conducted on short- and long-term health effects of the 2015–16 Aliso Canyon gas blowout had been part of a study looking into how the wind had carried particulate matter for several miles from the Aliso gas storage facility, located just south of the landfill, for miles.)
Another concern was the possible contamination of nearby water sources, including the Van Norman Reservoir in Sylmar. After a 2017 fire in Santa Rosa, tests showed that benzene was present in the city’s water delivery system, prompting advisories in an 184-acre section of the community.
Earthquakes can also present a hazard, especially when landfills use special liners to hold the waste to keep the material from getting into groundwater. There are many active earthquake faults located in close proximity to the landfill.
Some residents mentioned the danger from lithium batteries, such as ones used in Tesla vehicles, which are very easily ignitable, if they end up being stored at Sunshine.
A retired environmental engineer with L.A. City Public Works pointed out that after the Woolsey fire, the city of Calabasas sent its toxic waste to an out-of-state Class I landfill.
One of those speaking at the meeting was Wayde Hunter, an engineer, who is chair of the Sunshine Canyon Landfill Community Advisor Committee (SCL-CAC). He agreed with the many concerns brought up. As the president of the North Valley Coalition of Concerned Citizens, he sent a letter on behalf of that organization to elected officials, outlining the many pitfalls of using Sunshine for the immense task of storing this debris. In his letter, he mentioned that the AQMD was considering holding abatement hearings in early 2025 due to the many odor complaints. He also suggested that the Simi Valley and Calabasas landfills are experienced with fire debris, as they have stored ashes from the 2018 Woosley Fire, and that these sites, as well as the El Sobrante Landfill in Riverside County, don’t have the wind problems that Sunshine does.
He also pointed out that the remaining material after Phase 1 can be hazardous, too.
The SCL-CAC website contains monthly reports from the BFI-Republic to the SCL-LEA program manager, which accounts for “the types and quantities of hazardous waste and other prohibited wastes found in the waste stream” to be transferred to another facility for the appropriate deposition. In August 2024, for example, the facility received 12 gallons of paint, three batteries, 303 electronic articles, and 125 aerosol containers. The next month’s report listed two gallons of paint, seven batteries, 234 electronic devices, and 112 aerosol containers. It wouldn’t be surprising, given the deadline pushed by President Trump to clean up the affected sites in 30 days, that much more hazardous debris will be in the trucks showing up at the entrance on San Fernando Road.
The most recent report listed on the SCL-CAC site is the November 2024 LEA report, which listed 27 gallons of paint, 15 quarts of oil, 11 batteries, 220 electronics, and 219 aerosol containers found among the debris trucked into Sunshine.
Given the push to achieve clean up of the burn areas in an unrealistic 30-day timeframe and possibly a cut in EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers staffing due to the Trump/Musk overhaul of the federal government, one has to wonder if a battery, aerosol can, or a melted electronic component may slip through the cracks at either of the staging areas in Topanga and Eaton as well as at Sunshine. The agency in charge of sorting out the hazardous materials, the EPA, has been hiring outside vendors to aid in the process, but some of the companies have questionable histories when it comes to violations.
Other concerns should be the traffic increase for additional trucks as well as the heavy trucks that could impact the quality of the roads and streets. Some comments mentioned the possibility of dust and other materials being released into the environment during the transporting to landfills.
A representative for BFI-Republic spoke at the end of the public comments. He said that they are in phase 1, which means most of the more toxic materials are being removed and sorted and will be going elsewhere. But he didn’t dissuade the concerns of the residents in attendance.
As far as the potential for harmful chemicals being stored at Sunshine or other Class III landfills, a recent LA Times article pointed out that exceptions could be made through “emergency waivers and disaster exemptions” that could allow for hazardous material to end up at those dumps. Some Class III sites have applied for emergency waivers to expand their daily disposal tonnage, extend their operating hours, and accept potentially contaminated fire debris.
The article added that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said that federal crews will bring toxic ash to the Simi Valley Landfill in Ventura County and asbestos and concrete to Azusa Land Reclamation in Los Angeles County. The Corps of Engineers will make the final determination of what sites will get the rest of the debris. Five sites had indicated they would accept the waste: Badlands Sanitary Landfill in Moreno Valley, Calabasas Landfill in Agoura, El Sobrante Landfill in Corona, Lamb Canyon Landfill in Beaumont, and Sunshine Canyon Landfill in Sylmar.
It also pointed out that given the governor’s proclamation to expedite the clean-up process, there may be a temporary suspension of some solid waste disposal rules that could allow the sites to accept the fire debris.
There is also concern that decarbonization efforts could take a back seat. A recent column in the LA Times addressed the concern about installing gas infrastructure in the area burned by the Palisades fire instead of following ordinances that require new construction to be all-electric. Not only will residents save in the long run using electric appliances, such as heat pumps, but allowing the continued use of methane gas would increase climate change, which increases the possibility of more urban and wildfires.
This article mentioned that rebuilding burned areas with gas lines also goes against the state’s goal of decarbonization. One assembly member, Robert Rivas, just introduced AB-306, which would block most building code updates statewide until 2031.
To date, the LA County Board of Supervisors has been looking at the issue of emergency preparedness and the aftermath of the fire, including protection against rainstorm runoff of debris. The board hasn’t yet discussed the use of Sunshine for the ash disposal, and there aren’t any relevant items on the agenda for meetings through February 12th. Most of the fires that hit LA County fell in the districts of just two of the five supervisors: Kathryn Barger and Lindsey Horvath. The Sunshine landfill is located in Horvath‘s district. The County’s Department of Public Health has expressed concerns in the past about schools in the past of particulate matter blown from the landfill.
The landfill is located in City Council District 12, which is represented by John Lee. The Archer fire, which broke out in January near a northern Granada Hills park, was quickly extinguished by firefighters, water tankers, and a tour de force performance by a city bulldozer. During the January siege, smaller fires did break out in Chatsworth and Northridge, also in CD-12. A big swath of Granada Hills was in an evacuation warning for the Hurst fire that started in Sylmar, but fortunately, that one was kept from jumping the I-5 freeway through the amazing work of firefighters.
The council’s response to the fire disaster involved a packet of more than 60 motions, including ones addressing price gouging, tenant protection, parks, and relief for small businesses.
Lee introduced motion 25–0006-S66 on February 4th, which concerned the Phase 2 soil, acknowledging that there could be a risk that hazardous material may end up in the debris. He requested a “detailed report on the steps taken” by the US EPA and Army Corps of Engineers “to ensure environmental protections during the cleanup process. This report should include whether the debris is safe to be disposed of in proximity to residential communities,” according to the motion.
He also asked that the city’s sanitation department present a report on a complete testing plan for all debris.
The motion also stated that any necessary testing would be paid for through $100,000 provided by the Sunshine Canyon Amenities Trust Fund.
This fund, established from an October 1994 settlement between the City of Los Angeles and BFI, is meant to provide funds for financing community amenities within five miles of the Sunshine Canyon. But in past years, some money has been “borrowed” by former council member Mitchell Englander and successor John Lee for expenditures not specific to the five-mile radius.
Some residents wonder why this fund should be used to ensure the proper sorting of hazardous material from nontoxic dust, as several landfills may be utilized.
The motion is currently with the Ad Hoc Committee for L.A. Recovery.
Lee’s representative read a letter from his office about his motion at the neighborhood council meeting, but many residents felt skepticism that these reports would be enough to prevent hazardous waste from arriving at the landfill.
At the neighborhood council meeting, the representative for Assembly Member Pilar Schiavo, whose district includes the Sunshine landfill, gave updates on state bills concerning recovery for Los Angeles that she has voted for. The Wildfire Recovery Package bills are meant to help with rebuilding the affected communities. ABx1–4 and SBx1–3 provide funding to expedite firestorm response and recovery efforts, streamline rebuilding efforts, and help rebuild fire-damaged school facilities with over $2.5 billion in disaster relief. The funding will immediately help bolster ongoing emergency response efforts as well as jumpstart recovery efforts.
She also voted for SBx1–1: Legal Preparedness to Defend Californians, which will set aside $25 million to be used if needed to protect Californians against any unconstitutional actions, including the withholding of billions of the state’s tax dollars. It “amends the 2024 Budget Act to allow additional funding to be made available to the Department of Justice for litigation challenges of federal policy that adversely impact the state, its taxpayers, and residents.” It was signed into law on February 7th. Introduced on December 2, 2024
She has introduced AB 301, which intends to streamline state permitting and ensure communities can move forward without red tape slowing them down. This type of action will make for a speedier recovery and rebuilding effort, which is the least we can do for the families impacted by this unimaginable devastation.”
Residents who are concerned that the Sunshine Canyon Landfill will be utilized for the debris can contact these elected officials’ offices:
Supervisor Lindsey Horvath 818–880–9416, thirddistrict@bos.lacounty.gov
Supervisor Kathryn Barger 213–974–5555, kathryn@bos.lacounty.gov
Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo 661–286–1565, assemblymember.schiavo@assembly.ca.gov
Councilman John Lee 818–882–1212, councilmember.lee@lacity.org, myrka.martinez@lacity.org, erich.king@lacity.org, josh.yeager@lacity.org
SCAQMD Lead Inspector Larry Israel, lisrael@aqmd.gov
Comments