Chiquita Canyon Fire Sparks Health Freeects, Dast Dastate

More than two years, a member of the assembly Pillar SchiavoIts components have complained about the stench and the vapors they breathe, since the garbage buried at the Chikita canyon landfill, has ignited and never stopped burning.

Shiavo, Democrat representing the Valley of Santa Clarita north of Los Angeles, Decided to spend the night As a guest of one of 639 acres of depot The closest neighbors. She wanted to experience for herself what life was like the hundreds of people who have complained For harmful vapors, as the underground chemical reaction began under the casteery depot in May 2022.

It is not known what caused the chemical reaction, but federal officials say that the burning area has grown underground to at least 35 acres. As the landfill inflicts the stench like rotten milk, residents claim that chemical emissions become ill. And it can continue to burn for years.

When she arrived at Val Verde, it didn’t take a long time before she had a headache. Her skin felt itching. When she woke up the next day, she was disturbed to get her first bloody nose for years, she said.

“People get sick,” Shiavo said In a video log Taken on her phone during her stay last fall. “People are barricaded in their homes, not opening windows and doors and do not allow children to go out and play trampolines because they are afraid of breathing air. … We have to get people out of here and keep them. “

This week, the State Assembly held its first hearing for its legislation, Assembly Bill 27Measure in the co -authorship of six Democrats in South California, which will spare residents to pay taxes on the benefit they received from the landfill owner. The Fund for Assistance Creating from Texas-based waste connections can be used to pay additional costs such as higher electricity than running air filters and air conditioners and for temporary homes.

Facing lawsuits and Los Angeles CountyWaste Connections opened the Fund from March 2024 to February for residents of Val Verde, Live Oak, Hasley Hills, HillCrest Parkway, Hasley Canyon and Stevenson Ranch. The company did not respond to a request for an interview but it He tells his website that payments are expected to exceed $ 25 million. In December, the company said in response to a case that 1829 households had received funding.

“In addition, Chiquita has allocated nearly 3,000 local residents air purifiers at a price of over $ 1 million and has paid to ensure that every school near the landfill has carbon filtration in each classroom and multifunctional space,” the company saidS

The company maintains that it has taken steps to try to control the reaction, but only this week government officials They told members of the Community In Castaik, the underground thermal area has expanded beyond the plastic coating above the surface of the landfill to try to contain emissions.

Canyon residents of Chikita are looking for state aid

50 -year -old Stephen Howe is one of the residents who have accepted the company’s funds. He said to Assembly Revenue and Tax Committee that the money helped make life a little more bearable to his family, whose home is only 1600 feet The 53-year-old depot that stopped getting into more trash at the end of last yearS

The House family, like many of his neighbors, claims that the depot’s emissions have become ill. He said his wife recently was diagnosed with breast cancer and one of their four children was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease. He said he was constantly fighting respiratory diseases.

He did not tell the committee how much he received, but said he was using the money for upgrades for his home to “harden” it to prepare for wild fires. He also had to upgrade the air -conditioning system of the home and buy new air filters and windows to try to keep the stink.

“Many times we had to leave the area because of the toxins … Because it would be so bad in our house.” he saidS “We also used the funds to get our trailer for RV from the area or to visit the family when we just couldn’t get it anymore.”

Howse is working in the film industry, but Schiavo said that other low-income residents ranked for state support programs have been accumulated to a higher tax group after paying.

“The anxiety is that if you take these funds, then do you no longer qualify for Calfresh or Medi-Cal? Are you counting against you? “She told the committeeS “Do you pay taxes now, when that money comes in and it appears to pay exactly for the costs that are related to life with this disaster?”

Land blade comes against the background of budget challenges

It is not certain that the bill will progress to become a law. Last year the government Gavin Newsom veto Two such bills that would release the victims of three fires from paying state taxes on income on settlement payments by companies claiming to have started these fires.

The state now Budget priorities are uncertain As employees and legislators continue to exchange how to pay for the relief of wild fire in Los Angeles, the hostility of the Trump administration and the insurance crisis and the accessibility of the home.

The Committee on Revenue and Taxation did not vote for the measure on Monday, instead moved it to the “tension” of the committee for a more fiscal analysis.

Meanwhile, residents are not likely to receive tax breaks from the federal government.

At the end of last year then President Joe Biden signed a bill that Exempt payments for settlement from federal income taxesBut the means of relief of the depot is not counted as has never been declared an official or federal disasterS

Meanwhile, Residents have filed over 25,000 complaints For local air quality employees since 2023, the region of air quality management in the south coast and other state regulators have issued dozens of infringement notifications. In November the air District ordered the company To create a web page that includes real -time air monitoring or potentially harmful pollutants, including hydrogen sulfide, methane, dimethyl sulfide and volatile organic compounds.

As an example of how residents can breathe potentially toxic vapors, air quality employees marked early last year that local air monitoring data shows that more than one -third of all indications exceed the state standards for hydrogen sulfide that the United States Environmental Protection Agency He says it can cause eye irritation, headache and fatigue, and potentially cause cancer or be deadly at highly concentrated doses.

The owner of waste links faces quotes

In June, the The American EPA also quotes The landfill company for violation of various provisions designed to protect human health. The company faces potential civil penalties up to $ 59.114 for each day of violation.

“The EPA cannot comment on current investigations, including an assessment of penalties,” EPA spokesman Joshua Alexander said in an email.

Shiavo said her night stay to the depot made her understand that residents should get out of there as the garbage stopped burning.

She is also an author Assembly Bill 28Which would provide state aid to residents around the landfill to find new or temporary homes until it stops smolding. The details of this bill are still bending.

“People are in this terrible situation where they cannot afford to leave because the home is so expensive. Now (after LA fires), it’s almost impossible, “she told Calmatters.

“And if you sell, who will want to buy it? Then, if you leave, you know, you have this moral dilemma. People are like, “I don’t want to sell to someone else and then (what if) they start to get sick or their children start to get sick?” This is this terrible situation. We just have to move people from there until it is safe to return people. “