CHIQUITA CANYON LANDFILL

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Los Angeles County departments are working collectively to help support residents in the areas of Val Verde, Live Oak, and Hasley Hills who are experiencing strong odors emanating from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. While experts work to address issues around the cause of the odors, County departments are engaged with the communities to provide information, and build a transparent, collaborative, and equitable approach to understanding the incident.

In March 2024, Los Angeles County, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the California Environmental Protection Agency agreed to enhance coordination and created a Response Multi-Agency Coordination (R-MAC) Group composed of federal, state and local on-scene coordinators to work with the landfill’s operator and its incident management team. For more information visit www.cclresponse.com.

Since early 2022, the Chiquita Canyon Landfill (CCL) has been experiencing a reaction in an inactive area of the landfill, leading to several issues for community members nearby. These include unpleasant odors being released, which have resulted in thousands of complaints. In response, multiple local, state, and federal agencies continue working together with the owners of Chiquita Canyon Landfill and have taken actions to control, monitor, and reduce the landfill gases and unpleasant odors from the reaction area.
To help evaluate the effectiveness of the onsite odor mitigation efforts at the CCL, Los Angeles County is conducting a month-long daily survey of the experiences of those living in close proximity to the landfill. We want to know about the odors you’ve encountered and the impact of the odors, including:

The location and types of odors you notice
How strong the odors are
When you notice the odors and for how long
Any effects these odors have on your health and daily activities

Your responses to the survey are confidential and information from the survey will be shared without identifying any individuals who answered survey questions. Your feedback can help Los Angeles County and its State and Federal partners improve monitoring and response efforts, identify patterns, and enhance our understanding of the environmental conditions related to this reaction. Participation in this survey is completely voluntary.

General Information

View this fact sheet for general information about landfills in English and Spanish
View this fact sheet for information about the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

Community Resources

Utility Relief Program

The Utility Relief Program was launched to provide assistance to residents living in proximity to the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. The Utility Relief Program will provide financial assistance to those who took proactive action to mitigate the odor impacts to their homes, including using air conditioning continuously during hot summer months. For more information, please visit the program website.

Local Resident Air Filter Program

Chiquita Canyon Landfill understands that in recent weeks its neighbors have been submitting complaints of odors to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Chiquita Canyon Landfill believes the most likely source of any odors that may be coming from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill is an increase in the production of landfill gas (LFG) at the Landfill. Chiquita Canyon Landfill believes this increase in LFG is due to an abnormal biotic or abiotic process, also known as a landfill reaction, taking place within a portion of the Landfill waste mass. This reaction is not related to current operations.

Chiquita Canyon Landfill is currently implementing short-term odor mitigation efforts while we work with the appropriate government oversight and regulatory authorities to implement long-term solutions. Chiquita Canyon Landfill would like to offer nearby residents that are experiencing odors a California Air Resources Board (CARB) Certified air filtration device for use in your home. If you live in Hasley Canyon, Hasley Hills, Hillcrest, Live Oak, North Bluff, Williams Ranch or Val Verde and would like to receive an air filtration device, please complete and submit the local resident air purifier request form.

View this fact sheet for more information about air purifiers in English and Spanish. For more information on environmental odors, please view this fact sheet.

Contact Information

To view a comprehensive list of regulatory agency contacts please view the following contact list.

Community Air Monitoring

Since 2022, SCS Engineers, a Chiquita Canyon Landfill consultant, has been operating a network of 12 air-monitoring stations (MS), five around the Landfill perimeter (MS-01 through MS-05) and seven throughout the community surrounding the Landfill (MS-06 through MS-12).

At each station, air pollution measurements are conducted using equipment to monitor hydrogen sulfide, methane, and wind information continuously (every hour) and in near real time (data is posted on a dedicated website shortly after collection). In May 2024 specialized monitors were also installed at the MS-10 (Hasley Canyon Park) and MS-12 (Val Verde Community) stations to measure hourly concentrations of benzene and other VOCs.

For more information and up-to-date hydrogen sulfide and methane data at all community sites please visit: https://chiquitacanyon.com/reports/community-air-monitoring-program/.

For more information and up-to-date VOC data (including benzene) at the MS-10 and MS-12 sites please visit: https://dt.tricorntech.com/landfill.