Officials Unveil Plan for Publicly Owned Dump in West County Area

Saying the county is facing a waste-disposal crisis, Supervisor John K. Flynn and two Oxnard councilmen unveiled a plan Wednesday to unite the county and four western cities in operating a landfill in western Ventura County.

Flynn and Councilmen Manuel Lopez and Michael Plisky said the proposed public agency would be formed under a joint-powers agreement involving the county and the cities of Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo and Port Hueneme.

However, they said they have not formally presented the plan to those cities or the County Board of Supervisors.

“We on the western end of Ventura County have a crisis, and it’s a solid waste crisis,” Flynn said.

The proposal comes in the midst of a power struggle between a private waste management company and the Ventura Regional Sanitation District, which both want to operate a landfill to serve residents on the west end of the county.

The sanitation district operates a landfill in Simi Valley as well as the Bailard Landfill on Victoria Road on the outskirts of Oxnard. However, the dump near Oxnard is scheduled to close in late 1993. On Feb. 19, Oxnard city officials will discuss extending the landfill permit until 1995.

Meanwhile, Waste Management of North America hopes to open a landfill at Weldon Canyon, a scenic canyon between Ojai and Ventura. An environmental report on the canyon landfill is scheduled to be released today.

Flynn, Plisky and Lopez said they do not oppose Waste Management nor do they object to the Weldon Canyon site. However, they said residents should be served by a publicly owned landfill.

As proposed, the agency would identify a landfill site with long-term capacity that could be privately operated on a contract basis, Flynn said.

Flynn, a longtime critic of the district, said an agency formed by the joint-powers agreement would not replace the sanitation district but would compete with it for business and local property taxes.

The district, a public agency overseen by an executive board representing eight member cities, receives 5.6% of its budget, or $1.7 million, from property taxes, according to a county report.

Flynn, whose district includes Oxnard and the Bailard Landfill, said the proposed agency could be eligible for at least $1 million in property taxes annually.

Citing dumping fees at Bailard, which have increased from $3.50 a ton in 1980 to $39.50 a ton in 1990, Flynn said the sanitation district has not provided efficient waste management services for western Ventura County residents.

In an interview, Ventura Regional Sanitation District Manager Wayne Bruce defended his agency, saying the increased fees are due to county restrictions that “set an arbitrary closing date for the landfill.”

“There are more downsides to forming a new government to replace the district,” he said. “It doesn’t seem to make sense.”

Thousand Oaks Councilman Alex Fiore, chairman of the district’s board of directors, agreed. “Operating two districts would not appear to be nearly as efficient as operating one established regional district,” he said.

Lopez and Plisky said the proposed agency could be an alternative to extending the life of Bailard Landfill for two more years. They both said the proposed joint-powers agreement will be discussed at the Feb. 19 Oxnard meeting.

Lopez pointed out that the district serves Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Ventura and Camarillo as well as cities in the eastern county, such as Thousand Oaks, Santa Paula, Ojai and Fillmore.

He said the proposed joint-powers agreement would be designed to meet the specific needs of cities in the western county.