Dozens of Val Verde residents participated in Chiquita Canyon’s quarterly free disposal day, officials said Saturday.
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Residents had the opportunity to visit the landfill to dispose of solid waste at no cost, and landfill representatives were also available to discuss landfill operations and the “master plan revision” one-on-one.
“The free disposal day for Val Verde is of great benefit for our neighbors,” said Mike Dean of Chiquita Canyon. “We see many of the same Val Verde residents every time and they appreciate the opportunity to dispose of their waste at no cost.”
Chiquita Canyon officials have been hosting the event for nearly two decades, and residents commonly use the opportunity to do extensive yard work or home improvements so they can then dispose of the waste at no cost, according to Dean.
Related Article: Chiquita Canyon Landfill Expansion Still Seeking Val Verde Support
“This program helps to make Val Verde a great community,” he said.
Landfill representatives spoke with many of the event’s participants in both English and Spanish, according to John Musella, spokesman for Chiquita Canyon.
“It was really a great opportunity to have personal conversations with our neighbors in Val Verde and learn that we have a lot of support from them,” he said. “So often we don’t see or hear from most Val Verde residents, so days like this are a good time for us to connect with our neighbors.”
“We were able to dispel so many of the rampant rumors and misinformation about the landfill,” Musella continued. “And as a result of our conversations with Val Verde residents, many of them signed supporter cards.”
About Chiquita Canyon
Chiquita Canyon is located in Castaic, California, approximately 3 miles west of the Interstate 5 on State Route 126 in the Santa Clarita Valley. It has been in continuous operation for more than 40 years and is owned and operated by Waste Connections, an integrated solid waste services company.
Chiquita Canyon provides the Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding Los Angeles communities with environmentally safe and efficient waste disposal services.
Chiquita Canyon, like other solid waste landfills, over time generates a greenhouse gas, methane, which can be safely converted into a valuable source of clean energy. Chiquita deploys a gas recovery system to collect methane which is then used to generate clean energy for nearly 10,000 homes each year.
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So Mr. Musella spoke Spanish to our neighbors? I find that interesting. Some of the English speaking people were told they had to sign a second paper in order to dump their trash for free. That is in addition to the receipt you get for going there, they had to sign something else. That isn’t the truth. I seriously doubt the people Mr. Musella is referring to were told the whole truth of what they were being asked to sign. The people I talked to coming off Chiquito going to the DUMP were definitely against the DUMP expansion. Met up with some long time friends who live in Santa Clarita and they were appalled at what I was showing them….the documents confirming toxic waste from an auto shredder, nuclear waste from Rocketdyne and sludge from Santa Barbara.
In good faith to our neighbors in Val Verde… if anyone who signed a support card has an issue with what they signed, we encourage them to contact Chiquita Canyon directly. We’d be more than happy to have a conversation and, if they choose, to destroy the support card they signed. It’s that simple.
Would you be willing to publicly apologize for upsetting the residents and recanting the statements you have publicly made?
Considering that the Spanish speaking residents don’t read this column or they rarely come to the community meetings, there’s little chance they will know about your offer to call them.
If you truly want to know the reason why they signed your card, I recommend getting together with the VVCAC and make calls with a Spanish translator (on a speaker phone) to all the residents who signed your card. One by one, call and ask if they understood what they were signing. If more than one or two people were mistaken, then we can conclude that the community was tricked. Again, whether it was intentional or not we will not know, but we will know is that they were misled.
Hey Greg… We are very confident in the support we received last weekend. We had good conversations with Val Verde residents in English and in Spanish. We were humbled by the amount of support and positive comments from our neighbors. People fully understood what they were signing. It was printed in English and in Spanish.
John,
Can I get you to agree to coordinate with the VVCAC and call the residents?
As I’ve posted, I have a resident who has complained to me about this. They are not part of the opposition and I believe that they were not told what they signed.
Thank you.
Greg
Sadly, our small group of opponents are now lying about Val Verde residents being forced to sign support cards. I was there with a bilingual member of the Chiquita Canyon team and I am very confident in the fact that we had good, sincere conversations with Val Verde residents and they freely chose to sign the support cards which included one sentence and were provided in English and in Spanish. Anyone who feels they were forced to sign something against their will should feel free to call Chiquita Canyon directly. We’d be happy to destroy their support card if requested. We can easily offer this because we have truth on our side.
I received a complaint from a resident’s wife regarding the support cards. She told me her husband went to the landfill for the Dump Day event – to dump a pick up truck full of trash. When he got there, someone (not John Musella) pushed a clip board in front of him and told him to sign it. No explanation that he was in support of the landfill expansion. So, he assumed it was something he needed to sign, so he could dump his trash. When he got home, he told his wife about what happened. She came to me and I told her what he had signed. Needless to say, she was very upset and felt that her husband was taken advantage of, due to his lack of understanding English.
I know that he wasn’t the only one who signed a card – a card that seemed to be for the entrance to an landfill sponsored event, not to state your support to something you may or may not be informed about. Taking advantage of a person’s weakness isn’t an honorable thing to do, but to do it to a group of people is absolutely wrong.
The outcome of this is that the residents of Val Verde are now even more upset with the landfill and the ones who were unsure will now be against anything the landfill does or represents. So what was once considered something that the community appreciated and looked forward to is now something that has mistrust and deceit tied to it.
Greg… Nearly everyone who attends Free Dump Days comes each quarter. They are very familiar with the check-in process. Our conversations were not part of the regular check-in process. We spoke to Val Verde residents after they checked in at the scale house.
Residents continued to sign petitions even after opponents started flagging down people heading to the landfill and after they put up a big sign telling people not to sign anything at the landfill. Unfortunately, these stories just don’t add up. But again, happy to destroy a support card if the person contacts us. Thanks!
Please read Eddie Hernandez’s comment below. I’ve and others have heard complaints from the residents who felt tricked. So, now we know that these stories are true and your accusation of the opponents creating lies is also not true. Again, I believe it would be a good idea to apology to the so called “small group of opponents”.
This has always been a GREAT EVENT for the community. So many love to take pride in their homes and property and having these FREE Disposal Days, really assists them in keeping their Pride of Ownership (or rental!)
Just one more thing that will go away, if more people in Val Verde don’t speak out in support of Chiquita Canyon Landfill. DON’T LET the few ruin it for the many.
Fact: living within 2 miles of an active landfill increases the risk of asthma, certain cancers, birth defects and behavioral problems in children. Multiple National Institute of Health studies say this. In case anyone wants to look at them just google “nih landfill” and you’ll get the links to study after study after study. Sorry, but no amount of free dump days, money, or community programs negate the fact that living near a landfill will increase your risk of health problems. Not to mention the FACT that Chiquita signed a contract with Val Verde in 1997 that stated they would close the landfill no later than November 24, 2019.
I know for a fact that my neighbors weren’t aware of what they were signing. They were handed a clipboard and told to sign before entering the landfill. So many people said yesterday afternoon “wait, we signed what?” Why doesn’t the landfill send representatives around to all 600 homes in Val Verde and ask for their opinions? Ask them to sign to allow the expansion to occur. Have representatives from the VVCAC and the county come with them. No one in their right mind would want the largest landfill in the state of California (that will be bigger than Disneyland) within less than 2 miles of them.
Hey Bonnie… This is not accurate information. You’re referring to studies in third world countries with zero regulations and for hazardous material landfills. Neither of which are relevant here. The trash from under your kitchen sink comes to Chiquita.
The NIH/landfill studies have been wide-ranging and have taken place in the United States. Here is a prominent study and the page where it states the origin of data. They used a diverse range mostly throughout the US:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1637771/?page=3
It is true that many of the NIH studies used data from outside the United States, but also from advanced countries such as Wales, Canada, Iceland, etc. where landfill regulations are much more stringent – and from closed landfill sites. Even then, and with more stringent regulations, there are still a host of undesirable effects.
In a way, John, I cannot fault you. You are only doing your job, helping your client protect their brand; this is your livelihood. The County of Los Angeles should know better. On one hand, we have the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, promising that LA City will be a zero-waste municipality, all the while sending LA’s trash to overburdened, impoverished areas of the County such as Val Verde. The problem is with policy. No landfill should be allowed to get as large and concentrated as Chiquita is or proposes to be.
Hey Sara… The bottom line is that the landfill in discussion, Chiquita Canyon, is a safe, well-run landfill that is regulated, monitored and inspected by dozens of federal, state, regional and local government entities. These agencies recognize that because they have tens-of-thousands of pages of reports and documents that prove it.
Bonnie… you moved to Val Verde what? 5, 6 years ago, and Greg Kimura going on 3 years ago now… If you don’t like the “supposed” effects of living next to a landfill… Don’t live next to a landfill !!
If you are SO CONCERNED… you’d really best move, even if the landfill closed today, all the toxins you are so concerned about, don’t just magically vanish! So making that ridiculous statement that “we moved here because we were told the landfill was closing in 2019” is just that, ridiculous! So, hurry! pack, and move… might I suggest Alaska?? I hear there is a pipeline that would probably keep you busy.
A lot of the smell problems and VOC problems would be solved if the landfill closed, so your logic is flawed. I wasn’t aware of the ill effects of living near a landfill when we purchased our home. I’m not even sure it was fully disclosed since we bought a foreclosure. At this point, I feel like moving is not in my family’s best interest financially. I will be getting a whole house air filter to help clean the VOC filled air caused by rotting trash. It’s too bad I spent hundreds of dollars on VOC free paint and mattresses to find out it’s just in the ambient air. I do plan on moving further away from the landfill eventually, but we’ll be staying within Val Verde because we love it here. We love our neighbors. It would also be unethical to sell my home to an unsuspecting buyer. I’m not a renter, so I can’t just pack up and move so easily. We’ve invested a lot in our home both in sweat and in finances. Which is why we’re fighting the expansion. It’s not just our health but our property values.
Hello Bonnie,
I researched the landfill before I purchased my home. They even bragged about how they are a odorless landfill. When I moved here I started smelling odors. I attended VVCAC meetings where I was informed by the President of the board at the time that any one who complained about the smells where all mistaken about what they smelled.
I have heard that other landfills are so impressed by this landfill and by the few complaints that they get. These other landfills call Chiquita Canyon Landfill to find out how they keep complaints so low.
Well I started meeting my neighbors and they told me they were informed that if they do not get 6 people to call within an hour then the complaints are null and void and AQMD would never come out to verify the complaints. That was a message from the VVCAC at that time. Also a false message. Some residents told me that when they complained the landfill made them feel stupid and blamed the smells on a farmer, trashcan, flower, or a neighbors septic tank. People began to just live with the smells. The more persistent residents told me that if they kept complaining then they got a visit from a county official who was there to look at their property for any violation. They quit calling because they feared the consequences of a call. Not something new if you type in Chicago, Val Verde, and Landfill you will come across a pretty boring read from a study done by Chicago State University at that time. Supposedly in this study a child did die from the gases.
The problem with just living with the smells is that you are getting the dangerous gases if you are smelling the day to day activity of the landfill this according to the ATSDR. The same ATSDR that the landfill uses in their draft DEIR for their expansion. There are many side effects we here are suffering. I have to now take medicine for my Asthma which has now become 24 hour a day raspy breath. Which I noticed cleared up last month when I was camping mount Whitney. Much less oxygen at that height and my lungs were clean. Should have been harder to get a breath.
As another writer wrote they are “Wackos” in Val Verde. He actually might have something. Some of the gases that escape from a landfill are known to interfere with coherent thoughts and with coherent speech patterns. When I met with neighbors here one neighbor apologized to me because he had early signs of Alzheimer’s. I wonder if he really does or is it living in the gases that seep out from a landfill. Many of us here are having memory loss. We talked about it last night after the VVCA meeting.
Bonnie it would now be much harder to sell a house here in Val Verde . It was easier in the past when the people tolerated the smells and the illness from those smells. But now that people are vocal about the smells and the illness they have been feeling due to those smells and the gases that travel with those smells, houses here have fallen out of escrow. So it comes down to do we keep our mouths shut so we can deceptively sell our houses or do we speak out endangering the selling of our plummeting house values?
Wow! The residents in Val Verde would hate to see;
1. free dump day go away.
2. We would also lose the sleepless nights looking for our inhaler’s or our extra medication to help us breath through the night.
3. We might lose the Rocket-dyne soil that was not clean enough for Sylmar, but good enough for Val Verde and Santa Clarita Valley.
4. We might lose the sludge that did not meet the air quality of Santa Barbara but good enough for Val Verde and Santa Clarita Valley.
5. We might lose the respiratory problems that we are suffering here.
6. We might lose our honest neighbors getting caught taking in substances that violate the contract with Val Verde.
7. We might lose the good neighbors being so good that when they get caught they do the right thing and quit taking in the toxic material. I too quit speeding when I get caught in some neighborhoods.
8. We might lose a good neighbor that changes the name of sludge to Inert Earth, even though the documents of where they got the sludge from call it sludge.
9 We might lose them paying off Castaic to change their opinion of the landfill, see table one of the Draft Deir.
10. We might lose 10,000 trucks and cars traveling the 126 and waiting in line to dump their trash, with engines idling.
11. We might lose the 24 hour proposal of the land fill.
12. We might lose the car/truck per minute per each lane (4 lanes) for 24 hours straight a day.
13. We might lose all that fuel exhaust adding to an already bad air quality.
14. We might lose the cancer risk that is in the draft Deir of Chronic. Not including the fuel exhaust, which would put us at 100 times of what the EPA says is expectable.
15. We might lose the smells of the landfill. If you smell it then you are getting the gases that come with it.
16. We could lose the 12,000 tons per day an increase of 4 times of what they take today.
Wow would hate to lose all those great benefits. Where do I sign the supporter cards?
At the VVCA meeting a few months ago all the Val Verde residents voted unanimously against landfill expansion, the meeting was packed and all the residents were prompted to show up for the meeting because of a deceptive flyer the landfill themselves past out about the meeting. We are not a small group, We are a whole community I think John Musella and his lap dog are in deep denial about the opposition of the expansion in Val Verde, I know and have talked to a lot of residents in Val Verde and all oppose except the lapdog!
Yes Kevan… And a few months before that in January the VVCA voted nearly unanimously for the basis of a funding formula agreement with Chiquita as part of the expansion, and several months before that voted nearly unanimously to enter negotiations with the landfill for future funding as part of the expansion. I know there are Val Verde residents that support the landfill and believe we are good neighbors. I’ve spoken to them.
In January 2014, the VVCA held a meeting for the community. At this meeting, we discussed the division of landfill mitigation fees and it was stressed that these funds would be given to the community if the expansion is approved by the county. One thing that was stressed was that the meeting was only for this purpose and we did not discuss whether residents were for or against the expansion. We felt that the mitigation fees and the approval (or rejection) of the expansion are two separate issues and we chose to discuss the former at another meeting. The community unanomously voted to accept the funding formula John is referring to.
There were residents who wanted to speak about the expansion and we told them that this meeting is for the sole purpose of the mitigation fees.
At the meeting Kevan referenced, the residents were given an opportunity to listen to the proposal from the landfill, review the Draft EIR and listen to presentations from both sides of the debate. The residents were given the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns. The participation was the greatest I have seen since I’ve lived here, the clubhouse was filled to standing room only and the outcome was unanamous against the expansion.
I am hopeful that the landfill has been listening to the residents and that they will live up to their claim of being a good neighbor to Val Verde. This means changing tactics and doing everything they can to bring back the trust they once had. I don’t know if they’re up to it, but I do hope it happens.
Thank you.
Greg
Hey Greg… just a point of clarification: The landfill was not invited to participate in the meeting where this “vote” took place. We did not make a presentation. Only one side was presented to Val Verde residents. Not a very fair and equitable way to take a vote when you only present one side of an issue.
John,
You are mistaken about both sides being presented. The VVCA felt we needed to be fair and we gave both sides of the argument. We were not going to hold a debate, as that was not the intent of holding the meeting.
Sure, the resident’s responses were one sided, but we were there to listen to them and have a vote.
I was reminded last night at our VVCA meeting that the landfill had ample opportunity to get their side of the story out. Here are the facts.
1. The landfill made a presentation to the residents at the VVCA meeting, the CATC meeting and the CATC Land Use Committee meeting.
2. The presentations had a slide show, nice poster boards and landfill reps and a professional from CH2M Hill was brought in.
3. The landfill put fliers on every house in Val Verde with their side of the argument – this was done the morning of the meeting.
4. The flier was made to look like it came from the VVCA, which it didn’t.
5. The flier was in color and was printed on a nice quality paper.
6. At the meeting, both sides were presented by the Landfill Committee.
7. We tried to be fair about both sides of the argument and I believe our presentation was fair.
8. The residents were given the opportunity to voice their concerns.
9. The residents spoke out against the expansion for a multiple of reasons.
10. The community voted 112-0 against the expansion.
Hey Greg,
Didn’t the landfill come to Val Verde and give an entire presentation before the night of the big vote? I remember seeing two flyers that were passed out to all residents. One flyer listed the Pro’s and Con’s to having and also to losing the landfill. The other flyer only listed the Pro’s to having the landfill. It looked like that flyer was put out by the VVCA, but later the town found out it was put out by an employee of the landfill. It was definitely one sided. The only side presented on that flyer was that of the landfill. So many residents were upset about the pro landfill flyer, the residents made sure to pack the clubhouse because of the anger they had when they read the flyer from the landfill. On the approved flyer from the VVCA it listed both sides.
I was at the meeting were the vote took place and both sides were laid out before the town discussed their views. I think I am remembering it right. I was actually a little shocked that so many voted against the expansion. Which also means that they voted for their own health over a lot of money.
It seems like I have been to many meetings were only one side presented in Castaic, and the other side was not allowed to present. I know there was a person who wanted to present, but she was denied. I am pretty sure she was not pro landfill. No one argued then about it being one sided.
Steve, You are correct. The landfill gave a long presentation to the residents at one of our VVCA meetings and it was done prior to the vote. The VVCA also put out fliers which gave both the pros and cons of the expansion. The flier the landfill put out the morning before the meeting was made to look like it came from the VVCA and it was only pro expansion.
You are also correct about why we had a full house at the meeting that night. Some came, because they thought the VVCA had flipped sides and was going to vote to for the expansion. When they found out it was a deceptive flier from the landfill, they were very upset. I do appreciate John Musella admitting that he was responsible for those fliers (remember he did that at the meeting which followed the vote).
You are also correct about how the information was presented at the meeting. The Landfill Committee presented both the pros and cons of the expansion. The residents were then given time to voice their feelings. I too was shocked how strong the comments against the expansion were. I also think that the deceptive fliers fuelled their anger.
The residents clearly told us that they want the VVCA position to be against the landfill expansion.
I believe that we need to be factual about things and not make false accusations. When the landfill reps make statement that are false, it tells us about the character of the people we’re dealing with.
1. To say that the VVCA Landfill Committee held a one sided meeting is untrue.
2. Or how about the landfill’s claim that opponents lied about complaints from residents being tricked into signing support cards. The residents have complained and the process the landfill used was wrong and in spirit, against the agreement and their permit.
3. Leaving out important information can also be considered being untruthful. When the landfill claims that the residents were not forced to sign … well, what does it mean when you tell someone that they MUST walk to an area and when they don’t speak English, you put a card in front of them and tell them to sign here? Ethically, it’s wrong.
Thanks for bringing this up.
Greg
To make things clear, Vanessa Brookman does not live in the Santa Clarita area any more. And again Mr. Musella, the public relations director for Chiquita Canyon Landfill, is calling us liars. The trash that Mr. Musella refers to does come from under our sink and it also comes from Santa Barbara as sludge, Rocketdyne Nuclear Testing site in Simi Valley as nuclear waste, and an auto shredder in the Anaheim area who was sued by LA City for toxic dumping into Chiquita DUMP. Again, I have the documentation and again I urge you to contact me for your to see.
Susie… Chiquita Canyon does not accept radioactive or nuclear waste. And you know that. I call it misinformation when it is misinformation. And this is clearly not true. The papers you point to do not say that the material was hazardous and it does not say it was taken to Chiquita Canyon. Therefore, what you’ve written is not true.
Susie… Also, your comment about LA City suing over toxic dumping at Chiquita is also not true. We’re happy to review it again with you in January at the next Community Advisory Committee meeting. In fact, Chiquita would be happy to review all of these items with our neighbors in Val Verde at the January meeting. Thanks!
Last time I checked, it was not a requirement to live in Santa Clarita to Post on the KHTS website… sadly, as most of you prove, you don’t need to be knowledgeable, informed or intelligent either.
I’ve been gone for 2.5 GLORIOUS months… but I have 10 years of Val Verde knowledge, the ins the outs, the dirty little secrets… shhhhh
As for John calling you Susie… you’re lucky THAT’S what he calls you! Many of us have a few other things we call you that aren’t nearly as kind.
Demanding respect is proof that none is deserved.
I also want to share that the free dump day isn’t a choice on Chiquita Canyon Landfill’s part. It is part of the agreement they made with Val Verde in the 1997 expansion as MITIGATION. Free dump days are a compensation for the residents of Val Verde allowing the landfill to expand, not a public service as it continuously seems to be falsely portrayed by Mr. Musella. Here is a link to the agreement so you can read it yourself. http://chiquitalandfill.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/StatementofAgreements.pdf
Here are excerpts from it:
Page 3-C Condition #20, addendum 20i states:
“The landfill operator shall provide four free quarterly clean-up days to residents of Val Verde, showing proper identification and proof of residence a the landfill. These days may be Sundays. The operator shall further reimburse the Community Advisory Committee for the cost of providing too rolloff bins in Val Verde on each clean-up day. The operator and Committee may jointly change this program if they mutually determine alternatives to the above can further assist the community.”
It may also be a point to note they also agreed to never expand again. The landfill, good faithed neighbors that they are, are blatantly ignoring the agreement they made with Val Verde and have no problem breaching it (which is not the only breach of contract this corporation has made).
Page 5-C, New Condition#46:
“The maximum total capacity of the landfill shall be 23 million tons. Landfill closure shall occur when this capacity is reached or by November 24, 2019, whichever occurs first.”
The community deserves the contract to be honored. The landfill was established in 1972 and the people who have resided in the area shouldn’t have to go through another expansion when it was agreed to end in 2019, possibly sooner.
Hey Erica… Yes, the free dump days are spelled out in the 1997 agreement. Val Verde asked for them and Chiquita provides them. Sounds like a good thing to me. In fact, Val Verde has asked that we continue them with the new agreement. Seems like a win win!
It would be a win win if the items Val Verde brought in for dump day were taken to another facility away from their community.
Otherwise it is still adding to the intake of the landfill which would be a win win IF Waste Connections would not breach its contract and it increased the landfill closer to the agreed maximum capacity of 23 million tons, hence getting it closed down sooner.
John, it is not a win win but a COUNTER MEASURE to Val Verde for having to deal with a landfill so close to its community.
Do you care to respond to the other item of your client breaching the same contract? I’d like to hear how the landfill can justify this proposed expansion when they have agreed to never expand again in 97.
The only thing I can give readers of this article is the case #BC458943 filed by LA DA Steve Cooley on April 6, 2011 against SA Recycling for “permanent injunction, civil penalties and other equitable relief”. Health and Safety Code, Div. 20, Chapter 6.5;Div 26( 39000 et seq): Vehicle Code, Div 14.1; Business and Professions Code3, 17200, et seq) If they can look up legal documents they will find it and in the document it states “Item 18. On several occasions, including but not limited to March 27, 2008 and April 9, 10 and 11, 2008, DTSC sampled SA Recycling’s treated ASR at landfills authorized to receive and use untreated ASR as an alternative daily cover. Samples were taken at landfills, including the Simi Valley Landfill and the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. DTSC”S analytical results indicated that certain samples of the treated ASR exceeded regulatory thresholds for lead, zinc or cadmium,” The Signal Article speaking about the win for LA DA Cooley is dated 9-13-2011.
My dad signed the stupid form on free dump day and is totally against the landfill expansion! My dad lacks the ability to comprehend proper english and is an inpatient man (due to his age and personality) so he signed the form. He simply wanted to dump his tree branches and move on with the rest of his day! I’m sick of residents in Val Verde getting taken advantage with this dump expansion due to their lack of knowledge and understanding of the situation. I wish it had been me they handed the damn clip board too so that I could have showed them what I thought of the expansion! I’ve lived in Val Verde 20+ years, have a masters degree and mean what I say. NO ON THE DUMP EXPANSION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We can pay to dump our trash and don’t need the free trash day pitty treatment!
Eddie,
Unfortunately, you’re not the only one who had their parent or spouse tricked by the landfill. What gets me is whether it was intentional or not, the landfill has again done something underhanded to the residents of Val Verde.
The right thing to do would be for the landfill to apologize for doing this and throw all the cards in the shredder. It would mean a lot to the community and to the residents who feel they were the target of the landfill. If this were the first time the landfill did something underhanded against the residents, I wouldn’t be so upset.
So, the ball is in the landfill’s court. Let’s see what they do – or don’t do.
Eddie… please have your father contact the landfill regarding his support card. The cards were in English and in Spanish and I was with a member of Chiquita Canyon’s team who spoke Spanish. No one was pressured to sign the cards. A few people did not want to sign. It was a simple process and we had a lot of great conversations in English and in Spanish with people who supported Chiquita Canyon. Thanks!
Musella,
Your central arguement against Val Verde residents is that we “know” that your right. How on earth can you say that to a group of people as a logical arguement? Most residents of this community have never met you. You also characterize us as wackoes for daring to think the landfill is environmentally unsound. What could be more environmentally unsound, maybe Chernobyl? People are going to die from the toxic environment your company is creating. Maybe someday you will grow a conscience, and realize no matter how lucrative having a landfill is here, its not worth killing moms, dads, and kids.
Michael… I speak with knowledge of the company and the operation for which I work. I am very comfortable and proud of Chiquita Canyon and their team. And I know I am not alone. At the core of my comments is truth and understanding of the landfill. When I speak, I use facts. When I hear an issue that should be addressed, we resolve it. But when I listen and hear misinformation, I correct it.
I’ve been involved with Chiquita Canyon for over a decade. The company and their employees have won awards and have been recognized for their commitment to the environment and running a safe, clean operation.
Mr. Musella, I have always referred to you as Mr., Musella. Maybe I should stop using the manners I was taught as I was growing up. Seriously, to call me by my first name when you do not know me, we are never going to be “friends” in any way shape or form AND you are younger than I am? That is rude! From here on please refer to me as Mrs. Evans”
I agree with what Eddie Hernandez said. My family would happily pay if we needed to dump something. Nothing is worth the smell and whatever pollutants accompany the smells. How much is a free dump day worth anyway, compared to what the dump does to the value of our properties? I don’t understand the logic of having a dump site (especially a major dump site) so close to any residential area. There’s a reason other areas are closing down dump sites, rather than expanding.
The landfill has offered to tear up any cards if the resident calls John Musella, has a conversation with him and tells him that they would like their support card torn up. When I first heard this I thought it was a nice gesture from the landfill. John even sent me an email with this offer. So, I tried to get this message out to the community and I found the flaw in the offer.
Follow this thought process for a minute.
1. A resident takes his load of trash for Dump Day, signs a card at the gate (not knowing what he signed, but assumed it was for the event), dumps his trash and goes home.
2. He’s a Spanish speaking resident who is not on an English speaking site and has no way of knowing what he signed.
3. He never knows about the offer from John Musella, so he doesn’t call to have his card torn up.
4. This person may be anti-expansion or maybe doesn’t have an opinion, but now he’s on a list of supporters.
4. John Musella keeps his card and uses him for his PR attempts.
I think something needs to be done about this. We have not heard back from John Musella in a couple days. Since he’s not willing to answer back, one can only assume that there’s a problem.
Greg… The basis for your argument is flawed because you start with the wrong premise that Val Verde residents didn’t know what they were signing. You were not at the landfill and do not know how we engaged our neighbors and had good conversations or what the card even stated in English and in Spanish. I personally proactively emailed and called you about this matter. So you have heard from me.
We are very proud of the support we received and glad we had a chance to personally interact with our neighbors and correct misinformation and address any issues they had. And have residents feel strongly enough to sign a support card.
John,
You are correct in saying that I was not there and I did not hear what you and the employees told the residents, however what I did hear from the residents was disturbing.
I do not speak Spanish very well and I don’t know many of the Spanish speaking residents in Val Verde, but the few who I did speak to are very upset about what happened. If it happened to the ones I spoke to, I can only assume that it happened to others.
If everything you and your employees did was above board, then why are we getting complaints from the residents?
Would you be willing to refrain from contacting the residents now, then at a set time, you and the VVCAC can call the residents and ask them if they understood what they were signing. If they know what they were signing, then you are correct. If not, then there is a problem.
Can we agree to do this?
Vanessa Brookman writes about free dump day ..”This has always been a GREAT EVENT”.. Are you serious? A great event? This is ridiculous. Hardly a fair trade for poisoning our air and land. Another thing, I asked before but it was never posted. Where are the 10,000 homes that receive all this clean cheap energy as a result of the methane generated by the landfill. This seems to be the one positive thing being cited. So which homes?
David… Chiquita Canyon works with a power company, Ameresco, who actually operates the Clean Energy Facility and produces the electricity. They have contracts with power companies who want to use Green Energy for their customer base. Ameresco puts the Green Energy onto the grid. A power company buys that amount of electricity and pulls it off the grid at their location for their customers. While it is my understanding that Ameresco sells to Burbank and Pasadena, the actual Green Energy being produced at Chiquita is technically entering and going onto the grid locally.
Besides, it SHOULD be a requirement to live in the area in order to comment. if you don’t live here, no one cares what you think!
At last night’s VVCA meeting, a resident spoke out about his trip to the Free Dump Day event last Saturday.
1. He pulled up to the window and signed in as normal.
2. He was told that he MUST walk to another area.
3. He was NOT told that this is OPTIONAL.
4. He was not told why he had to do this or what it was for.
5. When he got to the area, he was asked if he would sign the support card.
6. He refused.
7. He speaks English.
The residents of the community were upset to hear about how this was done. The Free Dump Day is a contractual requirement – THEY MUST DO IT. The county requires it under the landfill’s use permit. The landfill claims this is part of them being a “good neighbor”. It’s a requirement, not an option for them.
The landfill added another condition to this Free Dump Day, which should’ve been authorized by the county and the VVCA. Since they required the residents to see John Musella and his group prior to entering the landfill event, then it’s a change in the terms of the contract and the permit.
The landfill and the county will receive notice from the VVCA.