State Board Approves Extending Bailard Landfill Permit to ’97

SACRAMENTO â€”  Saying its closure is guaranteed within three years, a state board Wednesday gave unanimous approval to extending the life of Bailard Landfill until May, 1997, despite neighbors’ complaints.

The 6-0 vote by the state Integrated Waste Management Board followed the landfill operator’s detailed rebuttal to community objections over noise, dust, stench and scavenging sea gulls.

Speaking in opposition, Ventura County Supervisor John K. Flynn warned the board against continuing a pattern of discrimination by granting another landfill permit in the most racially diverse area of the county.

“It’s not an accident that all those landfills were put in Oxnard,� Flynn said after the vote. “This kind of environmental discrimination occurs throughout California, and they’ve got to start talking about that issue.�

Still, Flynn said he did not view the board’s vote as a defeat since the permit extension allows Bailard Landfill to operate only until May, 1997.

“We wanted to get it shut down completely, but we got some guarantees here,� Flynn said. “It’s a partial victory.�

Efforts to open a landfill to eventually replace Bailard--in Weldon Canyon between Ventura and Ojai--moved forward Tuesday as the county voter registrar confirmed that proponents had submitted enough valid signatures to place the matter before voters.

On July 12 Registrar Richard Dean will bring the issue to the County Board of Supervisors, whose vote is required to place the initiative on the November ballot. Ojai leaders have said they expect to file suit to block what they consider a legally flawed measure.

Bailard’s permit contains two key provisions that may actually throw the switch on the dump before its deadline. Those provisions place limits on the weight and height of garbage piles that can amass in the landfill by the Santa Clara River.

In fact, Clint Whitney, general manager of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, told board members that the landfill will very likely hit its elevation limit in September, 1996, triggering an automatic shutdown.

“This is it,� Whitney said, vowing not to seek another extension. “We’re closing at one of those three triggers.�

In a lengthy presentation, Whitney denied what he called “the very serious allegations about nuisance issues� aired by dozens of residents who protested the extension at a hearing last week in Oxnard.

Displaying a video of the landfill site, Whitney argued that the problems actually stemmed from passing traffic, surrounding agricultural fields and nearby sewage treatment facilities.

“This picture says it all,� Whitney told board members, while narrating panoramic shots of Bailard Landfill and its surroundings. “You don’t hear the noise, you don’t see any dust, you don’t see any birds lining up on rooftops.�

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It turned out that Whitney--who had lobbied board members in advance of Wednesday’s meeting--was preaching to the converted. Top board staff members had already reported back to the panel that, in their opinion, the landfill was in compliance with government rules.

“The staff has determined that these issues are being addressed appropriately,� said Douglas Okumura, deputy director of the board’s permitting and enforcement division. He noted, for instance, that landfill operators dealt with the sea gull problem by building an on-site pond to help keep the birds from straying into nearby neighborhoods.

But Flynn got the biggest chuckle of the meeting when he recounted a story to show that Bailard’s plan is far from fail-safe. While walking precincts one day in the River Ridge development, Flynn said he was startled when “a pork chop fell down right in front of me, dropped by a sea gull.�

Flynn also spoke up on behalf of the nuns of Sister Servants of Mary, who have fought the extension because their convent is situated across Victoria Avenue from the dump.

Along with seeking assurances of the landfill’s 1997 shutdown, the supervisor asked that the portion nearest the convent become the first of four segments to be phased out. Officials agreed to alter Bailard’s closure plan to reflect that change.

“The nuns are not in the business of opposing landfills,� Flynn said. “This whole issue has frightened them to death.�

Likewise, the Weldon Canyon proposal has stirred strong emotions, particularly in the Ventura and Ojai Valley communities nearest the site. With county supervisors lined up against the project last summer, Waste Management of North America withdrew its plan. This year, another firm decided to circumvent the board by taking the issue directly to the voters.

In a three-week petition drive this spring, Taconic Resources Inc. of San Diego gathered about 32,000 signatures, 75% more than needed to put the initiative on November’s ballot. This week, the registrar’s office tested a small sample of the petitions and found enough legitimate signatures to validate the entire set of petitions.

Correspondent Phyllis W. Jordan contributed to this story.