OXNARD : Hazardous Waste Injunction Sought

The owners of the land beneath the Bailard Landfill in Oxnard are seeking a court-ordered injunction to force the landfill operators to stop accepting household hazardous wastes and to reduce methane gas emissions.

On June 9, a Superior Court judge will rule on a request by the Bailard family that the Regional Sanitation District be required to devise a plan within 30 days to remedy the problems, said Michael Cooney, an attorney for the descendants of William Bailard.

Cooney said the Bailard family wants the district to stop accepting the hazardous wastes so the landowners are not left with a huge cleanup tab after the landfill is projected to close in late 1993.

“The owners are concerned that they will be charged to clean up the operator’s mess,” Cooney said.

Clint Whitney, the district’s general manager, said the district is in compliance with all permitting agency requirements. To completely eliminate all household hazardous wastes, including fingernail polish remover and house paint, every load of trash would have to be inspected, he said.

Whitney said there is no practical way to comply with the request short of closing the landfill.

He said the real motivation behind the injunction request stems from a two-year-old lawsuit in which the district sued the family for millions in anticipated costs to maintain the landfill after it is closed.