Industry : Landfill Hearings April 27

The state Energy Commission will begin hearings April 27 at City Hall to resolve a dispute over which agency has jurisdiction over waste-to-energy projects at Puente Hills landfill.

A settlement conference this week failed to resolve the dispute between the county Sanitation Districts, which is considering construction of two trash incineration plants of 47 megawatts each at the landfill, and the Hacienda Heights Improvement Assn., the city of Duarte and R R & C Development Co., which contend that the projects should be submitted to the Energy Commission. The commission normally has jurisdiction over power plants of 50 megawatts or more.

The Hacienda Heights Improvement Assn., a homeowners group, filed a complaint with the Energy Commission more than a year ago accusing the districts of trying to evade the commission’s jurisdiction by keeping power plants under 50 megawatts. The homeowners, joined by the city of Duarte and the development company, contend that any trash incineration project must be submitted to the Energy Commission because the landfill already has a plant that generates nearly 50 megawatts by burning landfill gas.

The Sanitation Districts contends that the gas-to-energy project is separate from the waste-to-energy plan and that it is premature for the commission to assert jurisdiction over proposed waste-to-energy plants since sanitation directors have not yet decided what will be built at Puente Hills.

Garret Shean, Energy Commission hearing officer, said the hearings on the jurisdiction issue are expected to take five days. Shean will conduct the hearings.