Simi Valley Pitches Plan to Cities on Disposal of Trash

The cities of Ventura County are close to agreeing on a regional solution to their trash disposal problems but--except for Simi Valley--no one has yet signed on the dotted line.

Simi Valley City Manager Mike Sedell presented a proposal Thursday afternoon to the Ventura County Council of Government in which a consortium of cities would dump its trash at the Simi Valley Landfill.

Under the terms of the proposal, the landfill run by Waste Management Inc. would drop dumping rates by 34% for cities if it can secure an exclusive contract for the trash.

The landfill management has said that to survive economically, it needs to bring in more trash from either Ventura County or Los Angeles. The site currently takes in about 1,000 tons of trash a day--largely from Simi Valley, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks--although it is permitted to accept up to 3,000 a day.

The consortium is open to any city in Ventura County that wants to join it, says Sedell, but the decision must be made by March 1, or before the landfill takes in 1,800 tons of trash a day from any other client.

“When we get to 1,800 tons, the ship sinks,” said Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton.

The proposal could be the solution to western Ventura County’s trash problems. The cities there have been scrambling to find somewhere to put waste when the current dump site, Bailard Landfill in Oxnard, closes in July.

But critics say it’s merely paving the way for monopoly waste management.

“This eliminates competition, which is not good for anyone,” said Thousand Oaks Mayor Andy Fox. “We need alternatives.”

If the cities agree to the proposal, Simi Valley would become the primary landfill destination for trash in the county.

The plan would spare western Ventura County--at least for now--the tough decision of where to place its next major landfill. A plan to expand the tiny Toland Road Landfill has raised hackles of Santa Paula and Fillmore residents, who don’t want trash trucks rumbling along California 126.

A long-debated proposal to place a dump at Weldon Canyon has met fierce opposition from Ventura and Ojai residents, who fear the pollution, traffic and noise it could bring. Unable to win support from county leaders, developers are asking the voters to approve the landfill on the March 26 ballot.

Simi Valley officials, who have long opposed the shipment of more trash from western Ventura County to their dump, changed their position recently in light of the possible rate reductions.

Officials also preferred getting trash from within the county, rather than importing Los Angeles trash.

“They’re going to get the tons they need from somewhere,” Stratton said. “Why shouldn’t it benefit us?”

The Simi Valley City Council unanimously voted Monday to support creation of a joint-powers authority with Ventura, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark.

Moorpark has given tentative approval to the plan, but has not signed a formal agreement. Ventura and Camarillo have not yet voted, and Thousand Oaks delayed a vote Tuesday night because of concerns about the environmental impact.

“Thousand Oaks stands to become the gateway for trash coming from west to east,” Fox said Thursday.

He said the city is ready to join the group, but that is has serious concerns about the increased truck traffic the agreement would bring through the city. He also said he is fearful of having no other solution to western county trash.

“Toland is a viable alternative,” he said. “It gives the east county a safety valve.”

The contract would guarantee that at least 1,800 tons of Ventura County’s daily output of 2,600 tons of trash would be sent to the eastern Ventura County dump.

As part of the deal, however, the landfill operator would apply for a permit to extend the life of the dump from 2004 to 2013, effectively locking the cities into its contract for 20 years.