State lawmakers are planning an oversight hearing that will look into how California handles toxic soil from old industrial, military and other cleanup sites 鈥� waste contaminated with things such as lead, petroleum hydrocarbons and the infamous insecticide DDT.
A last month revealed businesses and government agencies routinely dispose of contaminated soil at landfills in Arizona and Utah 鈥� states with weaker environmental regulation and oversight 鈥� as opposed to in California where the waste would need to go to specialized hazardous waste disposal facilities.
Two of the most heavily used landfills are near Native American reservations in Arizona, including one landfill with a .
California state and local government agencies largely oversee or directly manage the cleanup projects disposing the waste out of state. California鈥檚 own hazardous waste watchdog 鈥� the Department of Toxic Substances Control 鈥� is one of the biggest out-of-state dumpers and has continued to take its toxic waste to Arizona despite the public revelations, according to information the department recently provided.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a national leader on environmental issues. His office failed to respond to requests for comment both before and after CalMatters鈥� initial report.
The as-yet unscheduled hearing had been planned to explore various hazardous waste issues, but the chair of the state Senate鈥檚 Environmental Quality Committee said it will now also probe the out-of-state dumping.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real concern,鈥� said Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from Redondo Beach. 鈥淚 think at a gut level, everybody feels as though every state should be handling its own toxic waste and not sending it across borders to other states and countries with less stringent environmental standards.鈥�
CalMatters鈥� reporting revealed that California businesses and government agencies have disposed of more than 660,000 tons of toxic soil in Arizona landfills since 2018 and nearly a million tons at a Utah landfill, according to data from the state鈥檚 hazardous waste tracking system. That includes more than 105,000 tons from the state鈥檚 cleanup of lead-contaminated soil in the neighborhoods around the old Exide battery recycling facility in Los Angeles County.
The out-of-state landfills are a cheaper option than California鈥檚 two hazardous waste disposal facilities, which are in Kings and Kern counties.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control took most of the Exide residential cleanup waste to the South Yuma County Landfill, which Arizona environmental regulators in 2021 labeled as posing an 鈥溾�� after an inspection noted windblown litter, large amounts of 鈥渄isease vectors鈥� (flies and birds), and groundwater with elevated levels of chromium 鈥� a metal that can harm people and the environment.
The landfill did make fixes to resolve those and other violations, according to Arizona regulators.
Exide waste has continued to go to that state. The Department of Toxic Substances Control shipped 52 loads of hazardous waste from the Exide residential cleanup to the Yuma landfill from Jan. 25 to Feb. 10, according to figures the department provided.
In Arizona, one lawmaker told CalMatters that she wasn鈥檛 aware California was dumping so much hazardous waste in her state鈥檚 landfills and called it 鈥渧ery concerning.鈥�
鈥淎rizona is not a dumping ground and hauling California鈥檚 hazardous waste so close to Arizona鈥檚 agricultural hub and the Colorado River is asking for trouble no matter how many precautions they take,鈥� said Arizona state Rep. Mariana Sandoval, a Democrat whose district includes areas around the South Yuma County Landfill. 鈥淚 would hope that our new governor will take a close look at this鈥nd encourage California to find landfills in their own state for their own waste.鈥�
New plan coming for California toxic waste
As to whether Californians can expect any major policy change, officials largely pointed to a 2021 law requiring the state to craft a new . As part of the process, the Department of Toxic Substances Control is scheduled to release a report in March looking at how much hazardous waste the state is generating and how it鈥檚 being handled.
鈥淭he (Hazardous Waste Management) Plan will propose strategies for reducing hazardous waste generation, managing more waste in state, and addressing issues of concern, such as hazardous waste impacts to disadvantaged communities,鈥� according to a statement from the department.
A proposed plan isn鈥檛 due until spring 2025.
Asked how the state can justify continuing to dump hazardous waste in out-of-state landfills next to Native American reservations, California鈥檚 secretary for environmental protection, Yana Garcia, declined an interview request but provided a written statement.
鈥淭he hazardous waste challenges we face across the country are decades in the making. While we know these issues won鈥檛 be resolved overnight, California is fully committed to addressing this urgently, and we are prioritizing investing in the search for solutions to do so,鈥� according to her statement.
She said the bill that led to the hazardous waste planning process as well as more stable funding for the department 鈥渋mproved our ability to address this and other toxic waste challenges. Enhancing DTSC鈥檚 regulatory oversight and requiring the research and public engagement necessary to come to consensus on solutions moves us in the right direction, but our path to achieve on-the-ground improvements will require true partnership with a multitude of stakeholders and a fundamental shift in how we produce, treat, and handle hazardous waste, across the board.鈥�
Hazardous waste landfills in San Joaquin Valley
Regulators, environmental advocates and lawmakers said the issue is complicated and any solution is likely to be controversial.
California is limited in its ability to regulate interstate commerce. State regulators said there鈥檚 not much they can do to stop private entities from taking waste across the border.
And California has only two hazardous waste landfills, both of them in the San Joaquin Valley: the in Kings County and the in Kern County.
On paper, the sites appear to have enough space to take contaminated soil. Last year, Jennifer Andrews, a spokeswoman for WM (formerly known as Waste Management Inc.), which operates the Kettleman Hills facility, told CalMatters the site 鈥渉as enough capacity to meet the State of California鈥檚 hazardous waste disposal needs.鈥�
鈥淲e also have plenty of space to meet the needs of (Department of Toxic Substances Control) waste for years to come, providing the agency permits new disposal units at our site.鈥�
But the two landfills have been controversial. Both were the subject of numerous regulatory violations over the years and advocates have long protested about the sites, which are near communities of color. In 2014 the Department of Toxic Substances Control at Kettleman Hills, prompting environmental justice and community groups to file a civil rights complaint, records show.
鈥淭hey need some other alternatives and the reality is I don鈥檛 see them building another hazardous waste landfill.鈥�BRADLEY ANGEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF GREENACTION FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Bradley Angel is executive director of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, one of the groups that filed the complaint, which ultimately led to a including provisions for more health assessment and environmental monitoring, state records show.
鈥淭hey need some other alternatives and the reality is I don鈥檛 see them building another hazardous waste landfill,鈥� Angel said.
He said there鈥檚 鈥渘ot the political appetite.鈥�
Indeed, the Department of Toxic Substances Control appeared to acknowledge as much in a that looked at ways to reduce hazardous waste including treating more contaminated soil on site as opposed to excavating it. The report cited a 鈥渄ifficulty in gaining consensus in the siting of new facilities鈥� as leading to a focus on strategies to reduce the amount of hazardous waste generated.
In other words, if you can鈥檛 build more sites to take hazardous waste because nobody wants it in their backyard, then you better figure out a way to make less of it.
Cleaning up hazardous soil
California鈥檚 efforts to address a long history of environmental harm at old industrial and military installations produces hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic soil each year.
The Department of Toxic Substances Control 鈥渋s trying to remediate contamination that was created over decades by unscrupulous private sector actors. Now, does that mean they ought to be dumping in Arizona?鈥� Sen. Allen asked.
The senator said his committee will hold an oversight hearing on the Department of Toxic Substances Control some time this year. Other topics will likely include recent reporting from the Los Angeles Times suggesting the state isn鈥檛 ensuring properties around the Exide facility are properly .
鈥淭here鈥檚 not an easy answer here. But that doesn鈥檛 mean that we accept the status quo,鈥� Allen said.
Other states could, of course, also take action. Oregon in the late 1980s adopted a rule that effectively bars California from dumping hazardous waste in that state鈥檚 regular landfills. Nevada has a similar rule. (California disposed of a large amount of contaminated soil at a Nevada facility in recent years, shipping records show. But that site is designed and permitted to handle hazardous waste.)
The lawmaker whose district includes an area around the South Yuma landfill said Arizona legislation to restrict California鈥檚 dumping is possible.
鈥淣obody wants that in their backyard,鈥� Sandoval said. 鈥淥bviously California doesn鈥檛 want it in their backyard. That鈥檚 why they鈥檙e bringing it over to us.鈥�
Utah legislators CalMatters reached out to didn鈥檛 respond to requests for comment. Regulators in that state recently signified their intent to deny a permit for a landfill on the banks of the Great Salt Lake that CalMatters reported was planning to take California鈥檚 contaminated soil. CalMatters reported in January that the company behind the project filed an economic analysis with its state regulators calling the toxic soil a 鈥渦nique market opportunity created by California law.鈥�
The indicates there is already enough landfill capacity to handle Utah鈥檚 waste needs.