Residents, city leaders protest dumping fire debris in Calabasas Landfill
The group is pushing people to sign an online petition to stop the dumping, one that even Kim Kardashian has shared.
CALABASAS, Calif. (KABC) -- A group of residents held a protest Saturday, hoping to keep hazardous waste from the Palisades Fire from being dumped into the Calabasas landfill.
Earlier this week, the Calabasas City Council passed a motion to "vehemently oppose any fire debris from being brought to the Calabasas Landfill."
The council said it's against increasing the waste limit and is calling for "rigorous testing and inspections" to ensure hazardous materials don't end up in the landfill.
"We should be dumping this in areas that are allowed to take hazardous material," said Michelle Geller, who participated in Saturday's protest. "I don't want to sit here and put this in anyone's backyard. This needs to go to a landfill that is deemed hazardous."
The group behind the demonstration is asking supporters to sign a change.org petition to prevent more dumping.
Kim Kardashian even shared the link on her Instagram.
At one point during the protest, demonstrators stepped in when a truck arrived to drop off debris. When that didn't work, some protestors became aggressive.
According to Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath's office, the use of the landfill for fire debris is within the federal government's authority, not the county's.
Her office said the Board of Supervisors will consider limited hour and tonnage adjustments on Tuesday, but added that where fire debris is disposed is up to the Army Corps of Engineers. Eyewitness News reached out to the Army Corps of Engineers for comment but has not heard back.
"Our communities deserve transparent and comprehensive information on fire debris disposal," read a statement from Horvath. "I understand our residents' concerns, which is why I have called on our federal and state partners--who hold the authority for fire debris removal--to share their plan with the public, including timelines, hauling routes, and safety practices.
The Board of Supervisors holds the narrow authority over operation hours and tonnage per day, but does not ultimately decide where and how waste is disposed.
I will continue to advocate for the reliable information our communities deserve and for landfill operators as well as federal and state partners to be accountable for implementing a safe and transparent waste strategy."
Meanwhile, another demonstration was held at the Altadena Golf Course where protesters spoke out against the Environmental Protection Agency's hazmat debris processing site.
"General Hospital" actor Cameron Mathison once lived just yards away before the Eaton Fire destroyed his home.
"We've got no notice, there was no community outreach, there was no town halls about it," he said.
Neighbors believe the lack of transparency has ruined their trust in the health and safety of the site.
The EPA, however, says it has systems in place to ensure the community is safe, using air quality monitors and soil tests.
"One of the things we do is before we begin using a staging area, we sample the soil in the area we're using," said EPA spokesperson Anna Drabek. "After we're done, we sample the soil again to make sure that we haven't impacted it. If by chance, which we don't expect, there were an impact, EPA would work to remedy that."
The agency expects to be done with processing and shipping of the items by the end of the month.
