Three Santa Clarita Valley organizations announced their intent to file appeals on the decision last week to allow for the continued operation of Chiquita Canyon Landfill.

The Val Verde Civic Association, Citizens for Chiquita Canyon Landfill Compliance (C4CCLC), Santa Clarita and Organization for Planning and the Environment (SCOPE) announced  separate appeals during a news conference at Santa Clarita City Hall.

“(The three organizations) are joining forces to demand that the County of Los Angeles keep their promise to the Community of Val Verde to close this landfill,” said the group in a joint statement. “We are announcing our intention to appeal the approval of this permit and will continue the fight for closure.”

The landfill’s representatives have noted in previous stories that the levels noted in the permit application are essentially the same as they have been recently.

“Chiquita Canyon is simply seeking to continue its existing operations on its existing property,” said John Musella of the Musella Group. “The requested 12,000 tons per day is actually less than what we are operating at today.”

The contract extension for Chiquita Canyon was approved by Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission on April 19.

“With approved expansions the landfill will have the capacity to serve the (Santa Clarita) Valley beyond year 2020,” said county planners in a statement. “However, the proposed expansion of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill has raised concerns by residents of nearby Val Verde, who are often impacted by wind-borne odors and truck traffic — compatibility of Landfills with adjacent development must continue to be addressed.”

The county called for the adoption of the mitigating and monitoring program, and OK’ed the permit extension granted by the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission authorizes the facility in Val Verde to operate for the next 30 years.

The project request includes an expansion of the existing waste footprint from 257 acres to 400 acres; increased maximum elevation from 1,430 feet to 1,573 feet and increased daily disposal limits from 6,000 tons per day of waste to 12,000 tons per day, according to the agenda item.

If the expansion is appealed, the landfill can continue to operate under the terms of the ‘clean hands waiver issued’ by the executive director for the Planning Commission in 2016, said Mitch Glaser, assistant administrator.

The waiver allows Chiquita Canyon Landfill to legally operate past its permitted capacity while it seeked permission on expansion.

The ‘clean hands’ waiver allows the landfill to accept waste beyond the 23 million ton overall cap, so long as the footprint and height of the permitted landfill area are not expanded and other interim operating conditions are met, according to county officials.

After an appeal is submitted, a public hearing is set by the Board of Supervisors, the Department of Regional Planning is set to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.

County Supervisors can uphold or appeal the planning commission’s decision — the Board of Supervisors can also amend terms of the Chiquita Canyon contract, according to county officials.

The appeal has not been filed as Monday afternoon, organizers have until the deadline of May 6 to file.