SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Earlier this week, Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control filed a lawsuit against Waste Connections related to an ongoing subsurface elevated temperature event at the closed Chiquita Canyon Landfill.
The landfill, located in Los Angeles County, closed in 2025 after facing years of regulatory and legal pressure. Nearby residents had filed complaints about odors, which they said caused headaches, nausea and breathing issues. Those complaints became more frequent due in part to an elevated temperature issue that residents said worsened landfill gas emissions and odors.
The lawsuit alleges that Chiquita Canyon’s operators have “repeatedly, consistently, and pervasively failed to lawfully manage hazardous waste.”
In a statement, Bonta said regulators have seen “consistent evidence of leaks, seeps, and spills of hazardous leachate and improper transport, treatment, and storage of hazardous materials.” The suit alleges these issues have negatively affected several neighborhoods and schools nearby, including one neighborhood that is within 1,000 feet of the landfill’s border.
The lawsuit alleges that the elevated temperatures beneath the landfill exceeded 212 degrees Fahrenheit, have released “odors and toxic fumes,” and generated millions of gallons of leachate.
The lawsuit alleges that landfill operators have “mismanaged the collection and removal” of that leachate, which it says contains chemicals such as benzene and methyl ethyl ketone.
According to the lawsuit, about 8,000 gallons of leachate flowed into the landfill’s eastern stormwater sedimentation basin in November 2025, an area that was not permitted to hold or store the leachate. Rainfall later in December caused that segment to overflow, causing stormwater to mix with leachate and be released to Castaic Creek, which flows into the Santa Clara River.
“Protecting the environment and safeguarding Californians requires quick and effective action from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill’s owners and operators. For too long, the Chiquita Canyon Landfill has done the opposite, which has resulted in numerous spills of leachate and other violations of our state’s hazardous waste laws,” Bonta said in a statement.
Waste Connections did not respond to a request for comment.
An unattributed statement posted on the landfill’s website said “many of the allegations in this lawsuit are without merit and much of the political rhetoric ignores the current conditions at the landfill and the hard work of Chiquita and its employees.”
During several earnings calls in the past year, CEO Ron Mittelstaedt has said the company was working closely with local officials, including the state and U.S. EPA, to mitigate issues at the landfill.
During last week’s Q3 call, which took place before the lawsuit was announced, Mittelstaedt said remediation efforts at Chiquita are following “a typical curve of a decelerating ETLF,” noting that work to mitigate leachate and odor issues is on schedule.
He expected the mitigation efforts would cost the company less in upcoming quarters. “As the reaction cools with time, you get less leachate generation. Therefore you have less leachate disposal cost, and you have less infrastructure such as wells to do cover to put down over the reaction area,” he said.
Bonta and the DTSC allege the landfill has violated California’s Hazardous Waste Control Law relating to the management of hazardous waste, and the state’s Business and Professions Code prohibiting businesses that profit from unfair competition.
The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, disgorgement, and injunctive and other equitable relief.” It also calls for the establishment of an abatement fund to help address pollution.
Chiquita Canyon has been the focus of several lawsuits and violations in recent years, including suits filed by Los Angeles County and the landfill operator itself.
Courtesy: www.wastedive.com