SIMI VALLEY : $300,000 Sought to Repair Old Landfill

Ventura County officials are asking for $300,000 in federal aid to repair flood damage to a 2,000-foot-long section of an old landfill site in Simi Valley that has left some trash exposed.

Last month’s floods washed away topsoil at the base of the former Tierra Rejada Landfill that had formed a sloping bank along the Arroyo Simi flood control channel, said David Burkhart, assistant general manager of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District.

Burkhart said county officials and representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured the 60-acre dump site north of Llevarancho Road on Monday to inspect the damage.

Burkhart said if the region continues to get heavy rains, the exposed trash could slide into the flood control channel, posing an environmental hazard. The trash has been covered with plastic.

He said officials plan to submit a formal application to the federal agency April 3.

The request will be made on behalf of the Tierra Rejada Landfill Consortium, which includes the sanitation district, the Ventura County Public Works Department, the Rancho Simi Recreation and Parks District and the city of Simi Valley. The park district and city own portions of the dump site.

For the past 18 months, the four entities have been conducting tests to determine if hazardous waste was buried at the landfill during its operation from 1962 to 1972, when government regulations were less stringent. The tests were prompted by studies that revealed the discovery of low levels of toxic chemicals leaking into ground water beneath the property. The water is not used for drinking.

So far, the agencies have found no evidence of hazardous waste buried at the dump, Burkhart said.

He said if the consortium does not get the federal money, the four agencies may have to come up with the cash.