Los Angeles County and Chiquita Canyon Landfill announced a victory in court Friday over Santa Clarita Valley residents’ second unsuccessful try to close the Castaic facility in the courts, this time after more than a year of problems related to smells from the landfill.   Also on Friday, Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, who has been an outspoken critic of the county’s response to the landfill’s issues, announced he has introduced legislation to provide federal tax relief to the residents impacted by the problems at the landfill.   Both 5th District L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger and Chiquita Canyon issued statements in response to the court ruling, which was mailed Thursday, according to L.A. County Superior Court records available online.  “The court’s ruling is simply validation that Los Angeles County is dutifully overseeing the terms of the landfill’s conditional use permit for areas actively receiving waste,” according to a statement issued Friday via email by Helen Chavez, spokeswoman for Barger. “But make no mistake — the community’s suffering is real, and needs continued and urgent attention. The task force of federal, state and county experts will continue doing everything possible to help the landfill’s proprietors bring this odor incident to an end.”  The landfill continues to garner thousands of complaints per month over problems with odors associated with multiple problems at the facility. The landfill has a settlement issue, as well as a subsurface reaction, and those problems are producing hundreds of thousands of gallons of leachate per week and a nauseating smell detected as far away as Valencia High School.  After Judge Stephen Goorvitch ruled the Castaic and Val Verde residents didn’t have timely standing to challenge the county permits issued to the landfill in 2017, the residents amended their claims to say the response to the landfill, which has required extensive work to mitigate the odor problems, should be permitted.   The second complaint from residents also said the landfill is polluting the environment, and that the county is not addressing the problem.   “While the court understands and sympathizes with petitioner’s concerns, these issues relate to how the county exercises its discretion,” Goorvitch wrote. “Petitioner’s remedy lies with the county, the state, the political process, and/or the regulatory agencies with oversight over the landfill, e.g., the (South Coast Air Quality Management District).”   Residents’ frustration  Residents trying to shut down the landfill have said the county should be on their side of the courtroom and some have accused the county of refusing to act against the landfill over a concern about getting sued.  Shortly after the landfill received an extension in 2017 to operate under certain terms, over local protest, the landfill sued to challenge a number of those terms, and that litigation was settled in 2022.   The settlement included a “mutual agreement not to act,” which stated the following: “Unless required by law to do so, none of the parties shall assist, counsel, help, coordinate with or otherwise cooperate with (together, ‘act’) any person or entity not a party to this agreement in any action asserted against any other party related to the subject matter of this agreement, except that Chiquita may act with (legal counsel) with respect to claims related to the Three-Party Agreement.”  It also included a “Good Faith Provision,” which states, “The Parties agree to cooperate fully, reasonably, and in good faith in the implementation of this Agreement, including in the modification of the CUP.”   Both of those provisions were cited by critics as part of the county’s challenge with enforcement.  A representative for Barger denied any such conflict existed in the 2022 agreement.  “Nothing in the settlement agreement prevents the county from enforcing the law and any violations of the CUP provisions and pursuing the appropriate administrative and legal remedies, including closure of the landfill, should the facts so warrant,” according to a statement from Chavez.  In the ruling announced Friday, Goorvitch said the plaintiffs failed to prove the county issued a “discretionary project” that would trigger this requirement. His ruling stated the initial actions were initiated by the Air Quality Management District, not the county — although the landfill is now undergoing several remediation projects being overseen by a pair of multi-agency task forces involving county, state and federal agencies.  Chiquita expressed gratitude over the win on Friday.  “Chiquita is pleased with the ruling to dismiss the lawsuit against Chiquita Canyon,” according to a statement from the landfill Friday shared via email by Chiquita Canyon spokesman John Musella. “This ruling confirms the county has conducted the necessary environmental reviews and Chiquita can continue to operate. As the EPA and other regulatory agencies have concurred, the landfill’s regular waste disposal operations are not affecting or contributing to the elevated temperature landfill event.”   Regarding the contention that the county is not addressing the problem, Goorvitch’s ruling states the county’s enforcement of its permit is a discretionary action that’s outside the court’s purview.   New bill to help   Garcia announced Friday that he has introduced the Chiquita Canyon Tax Relief Act.   A statement from Garcia’s office explained the bill’s purpose as making sure current and future relief payments from Chiquita will not be considered taxable income.  “The Chiquita Canyon crisis has been dragging on far too long, and unfortunately, there appears to be no end in sight. Residents affected by this mess should not be financially penalized — whether it’s with surprise tax bills or losing out on benefits like food stamps because they participate in the relief program,” Garcia said Friday in a statement released via email from spokeswoman Lexi Kranich. “This bill ensures that payments related to this disaster are not counted as taxable income, allowing them to keep their benefits and get the help they deserve.”  In his statement, Garcia said he’s been driving the response to the Chiquita Canyon crisis “since residents first brought their concerns to him last year.”  He said he welcomed the EPA’s involvement, which started earlier this year, and he’s been pushing for a state of emergency, and wrote a letter with bipartisan support urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to act.  Kevin McGowan, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Services, has said the state repeatedly has communicated such a directive is not necessary.  When asked for comment on a potential declaration, Brian Ferguson, deputy director for crisis communication and public affairs for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, referred The Signal to a statement from the California EPA, which he said was on behalf of the entire administration:  “CalEPA and four of its orgs — CalRecycle, Department of Toxic Substances Control, Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and California Air Resources Board — have been coordinating with U.S. EPA and local regulatory agencies to address conditions at the landfill as part of a multi-agency task force,” according to Nefretiri Cooley, deputy secretary, communications and external affairs for the office of the secretary for CalEPA. “Inspection and enforcement actions are ongoing; state, local and federal agencies are exploring all options to manage site conditions and protect the surrounding community and environment.”  Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, reached out to The Signal on Friday to say she 100% supports Garcia’s bill and she’s working with her legislative staff to determine how she can help at the state level.  “We’re checking right now with our (Revenue) and Tax Committee to see if the bill is legislatively passed at the federal level, if we can automatically follow that, or if we need to do a bill ourselves,” Schiavo said, adding the deadline has passed for introducing legislation this session, but she’s already looking ahead to December.  “Of course, at the end of the day, these neighbors shouldn’t have a further tax burden on them when they’re going through so much already.”  The post County, Chiquita claim court win in landfill fight   appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.