California AG Sues Chiquita Canyon Landfill Operators Over Repeated Toxic Leachate Releases
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on October 27 that his office, together with the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), has filed a lawsuit against Waste Connections and the other owners and operators of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, alleging repeated and pervasive failures to lawfully manage hazardous waste amid the landfill's ongoing subsurface elevated-temperature event. Brought under the state Hazardous Waste Control Law, Government Code section 12607 and Business and Professions Code section 17200, the suit seeks civil penalties, disgorgement, and injunctive and other equitable relief, including an abatement fund.
The 639-acre landfill in Los Angeles County's Santa Clarita Valley opened in 1972 and stopped accepting waste on January 1, 2025, after failing to obtain a permit from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.
According to the Attorney General's office, the subsurface reaction began in May 2022 and the affected area has grown from 20 acres to at least 90 acres, with temperatures exceeding 212 degrees Fahrenheit in places and reaching as high as 260 degrees. The reaction produces large volumes of leachate found to contain benzene, which must be handled as hazardous waste. On November 14, 2025, the landfill spilled 8,000 gallons of hazardous leachate into its eastern stormwater sedimentation basin; on December 29 and 30, 2025, stormwater mixed with leachate was released into Castaic Creek, which flows into the Santa Clara River.
Several residential communities, including Val Verde, about 1,000 feet from the landfill's developed area, are home to thousands of residents, and two preschools, four elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools are nearby. In November 2023, the U.S. EPA, CalEPA, DTSC, the South Coast AQMD and Los Angeles County departments formed a multi-agency action team; the county and the SCAQMD have already filed their own lawsuits, as have residents.
Bonta said the operators have repeatedly violated state hazardous waste laws through leachate releases and other failures, and that his office will step in to protect the region's water, soil and air. DTSC Director Katherine Butler said Waste Connections must manage hazardous waste safely and in full compliance with the law, clean up existing contamination and prevent future harm.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：洛杉矶县 Puente Hills 垃圾填埋场的天然气发电设施（资料图）。Heidi De Vries摄，CC BY 2.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons / Photo: Gas-to-energy facility at the Puente Hills Landfill in Los Angeles County (file photo). Photo by Heidi De Vries, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
