OXNARD : Public Meeting to Be Held on Future of Bailard Landfill

The Ventura Regional Sanitation District will hold a public meeting Wednesday on its request to keep the Bailard Landfill open until as late as May, 1997.

The district wants to continue operating the Oxnard dump--scheduled to close in December, 1993--because additional space is available for dumping.

“The meeting is not required by law, and it’s not a public hearing,” said Ralph J. Steele, senior resource planner for the sanitation district.

“Our objective is to hear what people have to say on the proposed permit extension.”

The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the Ventura Room of the Oxnard Community Center.

District officials will attend but will not respond to comments or questions, which will be reviewed by a district consultant and included in an environmental analysis attached to the proposal to keep the landfill open.

The district hopes to certify the environmental document in November.

“All the district is asking for is a permit extension to allow the landfill to reach its permitted capacity,” Steele said.

But landfill opponents have started a petition drive seeking to close the 30-year-old facility when its operating permit runs out.

The petition cites health, safety and financial concerns in its demand for closure.

The Oxnard City Council last week hired a Los Angeles consultant to determine whether the environmental report adequately addressed impacts to air quality and ground-water supplies and accurately portrayed health risks associated with continued operation of the dump.

At the same time, the council voted to reconsider later this month its decision to support continued operation of the landfill.