Agoura Landfill To Accept 1,000 Tons Per Day Of Mudslide Debris

AGOURA HILLS, CA – The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a waiver Tuesday to allow a landfill in the unincorporated community of Agoura to accept 1,000 tons a day of debris from the catastrophic mudslides that followed the Thomas Fire.

The county-owned Calabasas Landfill is typically restricted to take waste from an area that includes Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills, Malibu, Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks, a portion of Los Angeles and certain unincorporated areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Supervisor Sheila Kuehl recommended approving the waiver under an ordinance that allows it "when necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety."

The Calabasas Landfill has excess capacity, because it's taking in only 1,000 tons of waste per day but is authorized to handle 3,500 tons.

An estimated 2 million cubic yards of fire and mudslide debris needs to be removed from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties and CalRecycle's Office of Emergency Management is trying to get as many regional landfills as possible to help, according to Kuehl's motion.

The waiver will be in effect until at least April 15.

City News Service; Photo: Phillip Harnsberger crosses through mud from a flooded creek on Sheffield Drive in Montecito, Calif., following heavy rain, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. Multiple people were killed and homes were torn from their foundations Tuesday as downpours sent mud and boulders roaring down hills stripped of vegetation by a gigantic wildfire that raged in Southern California last month. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)