Waste Board Approves Permit for Regional Landfill in Imperial County

SACRAMENTO—Citing compliance with all the applicable legal requirements, the California Integrated Waste Management Board today approved a State Solid Waste Facility Permit for the Mesquite Regional Landfill in eastern Imperial County.

In approving the permit, the Waste Board broke regulatory ground on a new kind of landfill in California: a colossal mega-landfill armed with a number of high-tech environmental safety measures in a remote area that will accept largely nonrecyclable waste materials delivered by rail from urban areas.

"The Mesquite Regional Landfill typifies the kind of tight environmental scrutiny and debate that can be expected to accompany such permits," said Waste Board Chairman Daniel G. Pennington. "The landfill represents a state-of-the-art operation able to safely handle large volumes of waste, while providing communities with an affordable means of waste disposal."

Under State law, local officials are responsible for determining where the facility will be built and the conditions under which it will operate. The Waste Board gives final approval if it determines that the permit complies with all State and Federal health and safety laws.

The Mesquite Regional Landfill may eventually accept the municipal solid waste from communities in Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties and, over time, could rank as one of the largest landfills in the country, handling up to 20,000 tons of waste a day and accepting as much as 600 million tons of trash before closing approximately 100 years from now.

Arid Operations Inc., a subsidiary of Gold Fields Mining Corporation; Western Waste Industries; and SP Environmental Systems are partners in the proposed landfill project. Upon completion, the landfill will rise 375 to 475 feet above the surrounding desert and will occupy more than half—2,290 acres—of the 4,250 acres owned by the Mining Corporation and set aside for the landfill. Portions of the property were acquired by Gold Fields in a 1,750-acre land exchange with the US Bureau of Land Management.

The landfill will be constructed in a sparsely populated desert area in eastern Imperial County. The nearest population centers are Brawley and Palo Verde located about 35 miles to the west and northeast respectively. The active Santa Fe Pacific Gold Mesquite Mine and Ore Processing Facility is located adjacent to the proposed landfill.

California's first permitted mega-landfill is designed to meet or exceed State and Federal design requirements for municipal solid waste landfills. The landfill will be constructed in a series of segments of approximately 50 acres each. The design includes the following environmental monitoring and control systems: a three-component composite base liner; a leachate collection and recovery system; landfill gas monitoring and collection systems; and a ground water monitoring system. The environmental monitoring and control systems will be installed in phases as the landfill is constructed, and in addition, closure of the landfill will occur in a phased manner over the life of the facility.

Waste deliveries to Mesquite will first be processed at transfer stations and material recovery facilities in communities where the waste is collected, then transported by train to the landfill. A rail spur from an existing Union Pacific Railway line four miles west of the site will be built to allow rail access to the site. Initial plans call for delivery of a single daily trainload of up to 160 forty-foot-long sealed containers holding up to 25 tons of municipal solid waste each to the landfill. This initial daily rate of 4,000 tons per day will increase over time to 20,000 tons per day requiring five daily trainloads of waste to be delivered to the site.

Large, rail-served landfill projects like the Mesquite Regional Landfill will offer California communities more affordable long-term disposal options due to their large capacities and long lifespans.

The six-member Integrated Waste Management Board is responsible for protecting the public's health and safety and the environment through management of the 45 million tons of solid waste generated in California each year. The Board's mandate is to work in partnership with local government, industry, and the public to achieve a 50 percent reduction in waste disposed by the year 2000, while ensuring environmentally safe landfill disposal capacity.

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