Jacob P. Duginski 456 Montgomery Street | Suite 1800 San Francisco, CA 94104-1251 +1.415.262.4018 (Office)
[email protected] December 16, 2020 Via E-Mail Clerk of the Boards South Coast Air Quality Management District 21865 Copley Drive Diamond Bar, CA 91765
[email protected] Re: Request to Take Official Notice in SCAQMD v. Chiquita Canyon, LLC (No. 6177-1) Dear Madam Chair and Members of the Board: Respondent Chiquita Canyon, LLC (“Chiquita”) writes to request that the Hearing Board take official notice of the attached Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) excerpt and two of its appendices. Public testimony at the hearing and the inquiries of some of the Hearing Board members raised questions about the potential health impacts of the operation of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, as well as any potential impacts on housing values. Chiquita submits the attached EIR and appendices to assist in the Hearing Board’s evaluation of this matter. The EIR (Attachment 1) was prepared to satisfy Los Angeles County’s obligations under the California Environmental Quality Act to consider the potential environmental impacts of a project subject to its discretionary approval. Los Angeles County adopted the attached EIR when approving Chiquita’s most recent Conditional Use Permit (“CUP”) renewal on July 25, 2017. The EIR evaluated Chiquita’s proposed project, which was much larger than what was approved. Chiquita would like to specifically draw the Hearing Board’s attention to three assessments contained within the EIR. A Health Risk Assessment (“HRA”) was conducted to evaluate any potential increase in cancer risk in the surrounding community from continued operation of the Chiquita Canyon Landfill.