Castaic resident Jennifer Elkins said Tuesday she feels bad when she drops her daughter off at Live Oak Elementary, because she can smell the problems from Chiquita Canyon Landfill, and knows her daughter’s only option to play outside is amid the putrid stench from the nearby facility.  She was one of about 40 or so residents who gathered at Hasley Canyon Park on Quincy Street to express their frustration over what they say are the collective failures of the county, state and federal governments’ responses in adequately addressing their concerns over the more than yearlong problems.   The residents gathered in conjunction with a press conference held by Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, along with a representative from the office of Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, to reiterate their bipartisan call for Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency surrounding the landfill, and for L.A. County to support such a declaration.  Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, calls on Los Angeles County and the State of California to declare a State of Emergency on Tuesday, Oct. 15 at Hasley Canyon Park. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “They keep making efforts, and we have to keep explaining how those efforts are ineffective and the ways that they’re ineffective,” said Erica Larsen Dockray, president of the Val Verde Civic Association, referring to the county’s response, “and it definitely puts a lot of unpaid labor and administrative burden on our community that’s already incredibly burdened.”  The complaints shared Tuesday included the difficulties residents have had in receiving the benefits administered by Waste Connections, which owns the landfill. Chiquita also appears no closer to figuring out the root cause of the subsurface reaction that’s creating inordinate amounts of leachate and a nauseating smell.  Residents also still have lingering questions about the potential health and water-supply impacts that they say have not been adequately addressed, they said.  “Chiquita fully recognizes and regrets that neighboring communities are suffering odor-related impacts as a result of the reaction,” according to an email Tuesday afternoon from John Musella, spokesman for Chiquita Canyon Landfill. “Chiquita is working hard to address and mitigate these impacts. Adjacent neighbors participating in the Chiquita Community Relief Program have thus far directly received nearly $9 million from Chiquita. In addition, Chiquita has distributed over 1,700 air purifiers to local residents and ensured every school classroom around the landfill has been outfitted with carbon filtration devices.”  Protestors and local officials gather at Hasley Canyon Park Tuesday morning for the Chiquita Landfill Press Conference to call on California and Los Angeles to declare a State of Emergency on Oct. 15. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The landfill continues to deny the existence of any health impacts and cited studies that have showed “no anticipated short- or long-term health impacts due to emissions.”  Critics have cited the fact that the landfill has yet to fully comply with an order for water-monitoring wells and that there’s been no study of the leachate.   Residents near the landfill say they repeatedly experience short-term health impacts, from eye irritation to breathing difficulties.   Residents are calling on L.A. County 5th District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who is essentially the mayor for unincorporated residents in communities like Castaic and Val Verde, to act in declaring the state of emergency, Schiavo said.  This is Schiavo’s second letter, with the first one garnering no traction from Newsom’s office.   Previously, Newsom issued a response through the state’s Office of Emergency Services saying the administration was evaluating the situation constantly.   The agency did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday regarding this latest bipartisan missive, which follows a bill and similar request from Garcia last week.  Garcia’s bill seeks to make the benefits being paid out by Chiquita Canyon Landfill for residents impacted by the stench tax-deductible, and he also called on the county to do more and declare a state of emergency.   Protestors and local officials gather at Hasley Canyon Park Tuesday morning for the Chiquita Landfill Press Conference to call on California and Los Angeles to declare a State of Emergency on Oct. 15. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Tami Stephens, a field representative to the congressman, read a statement on his behalf at Tuesday’s press conference.   “Congressman Garcia is grateful for the assemblywoman’s partnership and remains committed to working in a bipartisan manner to resolve this issue for the residents,” the congressman’s statement said, according to a news release from Schiavo’s office. “He is again calling on the county to also support a declaration of a state of emergency. There is no downside to it. It will make even more resources available at all levels of government, and our community deserves it.”  Neither state nor county officials immediately responded to requests for comment on Tuesday.  County officials have repeatedly cited all of the resources that have been deployed to help residents, including a pair of joint county, state and federal task forces.  There’s currently scrim work under way mandated by a “unilateral administrative order” issued by a Multiagency Critical Action Team, which is supervising the situation in concert with a Response Multi-Agency Coordination Group, according to an August response from Michael Brogan, press officer for the federal EPA, which is now supervising the task force response.     However, residents have said that the county’s approach, which county officials have said is focused on making sure the landfill pays for the landfill’s problems, is not always the best situation for the residents who live on a fixed income, Larsen-Dockray said.  One problem, she said, is that for residents who live on a fixed income, additional “income” from the landfill’s relief fund jeopardizes their ability to collect the fixed-income benefits that are otherwise relied on for their basic needs, which is why Garcia’s bill is crucial.   But also, she added, it wouldn’t be needed if federal disaster relief was engaged, and she was told the state’s disaster relief resources would need to be engaged first.  Schiavo, who stayed overnight at Elkins’ home recently, said she could feel the air surrounding the landfill impacting her after only 12 hours, with red eyes, irritated skin and a tightness in her chest.   Schiavo also reiterated her contention that a more comprehensive study needs to be undertaken on potential long-term health impacts, and she was hopeful that an emergency declaration by the state would help free up resources for that study.  “We are begging. We are begging Kathryn Barger, begging Gavin Newsom, we need a state of emergency now,” Schiavo said. “We cannot wait. People are getting sick. They cannot work. They cannot go outside. Their kids cannot go to school. This is not normal. It is not normal to decide to homeschool your kid because you’re afraid that they may have to go outside and play and breathe this air.”  The post Legislators, residents reiterate call for emergency declaration over landfill problems  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.