State Grant Helps Clean Up Illegal Trash Dumps in L.A.: Waste Board assists in protecting public health and the environment

SACRAMENTO--The California Integrated Waste Management Board approved a $500,000 grant to help the City of Los Angeles clean up illegal trash sites, which have become a major problem with significant social, environmental, and economic impacts for the city.

"The impacts on the environment and to public health caused by illegal dumping can be severe," said Board Chair Margo Reid Brown."The State is proud to be a partner with the City of Los Angeles to combat illegal dumping."

Budget deficits and the chronic nature of illegal dumping activities have hampered the City of Los Angeles' ability to adequately clean up and provide surveillance, enforcement and public information outreach of these sites.

"This grant money will give us tools to provide programs and services to the 50 most chronic illegal dumping areas in south Los Angeles," states Carolyn Lin of the Los Angeles Environmental Affairs Department. "There is so much work we want to do in the City to improve the lives of our citizens, primarily those in disadvantaged, minority, and low-income neighborhoods, and this work could not be accomplished without the CIWMB grant."

The Waste Board is sponsoring a bill (AB 2695, Niello) to bolster local enforcement efforts against illegal dumping. The proposal, which is pending in the Legislature, incorporates recommendations of a 2006 Waste Board task force to bolster local and State efforts to combat illegal dumping.

The $500,000 grant came from the Solid Waste Disposal and Codisposal Site Cleanup Program, which accelerates the clean-up of dump sites that poses a risk to public health or the environment. The State steps in when the responsible party cannot be identified or is unable or unwilling to pay the cleanup costs.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board is the state's leading authority on recycling and waste reduction. It promotes reducing waste whenever possible, managing all materials to their highest and best use and protecting public health and safety and the environment.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board is one of six boards, departments, and offices within the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA).

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