California sues landfill owner over underground garbage fire

Officials say leachate has escaped the landfill and led nearby communities to suffer from headaches, hives and other health ailments.LOS ANGELES (CN) — California on Tuesday sued a landfill company over an apparent failure to properly manage a burning mass of garbage underground.Officials in the suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, say that Waste Connections and two subsidiaries have repeatedly failed to properly operate the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, about seven miles west of Santa Clarita. Heat formed by the burning garbage has led to material leaking outside the landfill’s confines, affecting nearby communities.“Think of it as garbage cooking underground,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta at a press conference.People who live nearby have made over 28,000 complaints in recent years, saying they’ve experienced headaches, hives and other health impacts, he added.In the complaint, Bonta asks a judge to declare Waste Connections in violation of the Hazardous Waste Control Law, order it to comply with that law and rule that it and its subsidiaries are liable for civil penalties.The Chiquita Canyon Landfill operated in Los Angeles County from 1972 to Jan. 1, 2025. Sitting on 639 acres, it received up to 12,000 tons of waste a day, Bonta says.The landfill has had what officials call an uncontrolled subsurface elevated temperature, or SET, event since at least May 2022. Such events produce leachate and gases that can spread throughout a landfill and lead to sinkholes and surface depressions.“The SET event at the landfill is expanding,” Bonta says in the complaint. “Temperature gauges at the landfill have exceeded 212 degrees Fahrenheit in portions of the landfill. The SET event has expanded from an area of approximately 20 acres in 2022 to an area of approximately 90 acres, and continues to expand.”The leachate created by the burning waste contains benzene, a carcinogen. Nearby communities have also experienced noxious odors and complained of nausea, dizziness and eye irritation, Bonta says.Speaking at the press conference, Jennifer Elkins — who lives about 1,500 feet from the landfill — said she commutes three hours each day to reach a school far from the site.“My children cannot play outside,” she added.The defendants have said they’ve extracted and treated the leachate, which increased by almost 70% from 2024 to November 2025. In May 2024, they reported generating about 100,000 gallons of leachate each day.The attorney general adds that their management of the hazardous material has led to spills and leaks into the environment.“Defendants have also demonstrated repeated and pervasive failures to comply with HWCL requirements intended to ensure the proper storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous wastes,” Bonta says. Such spills, and heavy rain in December 2025, led some leachate to enter a nearby creek and ultimately the Santa Clara River, he adds.Bonta also notes that the defendants have faced notices of violations over the years, leading Los Angeles County to file a civil complaint in 2024.The attorney general says the defendants failed to reduce the chance of fire, explosion or other sudden release of hazardous waste into the air, soil or water, making them liable for civil penalties. They also violated the Hazardous Waste Control Law by unlawfully storing, treating or disposing of hazardous waste at an unauthorized place.Additionally, they didn’t make a correct hazardous waste determination in December 2023 when 4,600 gallons of leachate offsite were sent offsite, and the defendants didn’t make a correct hazardous waste manifest when transporting it, Bonta says.Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, a Santa Clarita Democrat, said at the press conference that multi-billion-dollar corporations must be held accountable.“They know how to do this correctly and they’re not,” she said, adding: “We need the landfill to be productive.”The defendants could not be reached for comment at this time.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads