VENTURA : District Affirms It Will Replace Dump

The Ventura Regional Sanitation District unanimously reaffirmed on Thursday its commitment to replace the Bailard Landfill near Oxnard with a new landfill located somewhere in western Ventura County.

The district, a public agency that provides sewage and trash disposal services for eight cities, also decided to release a long-awaited list of potential landfill sites Sept. 5.

The Bailard Landfill, which is used for the trash of more than 300,000 residents in western Ventura County, is scheduled to close in late 1993. The district has applied for an extension until 1997.

Several city and county officials have urged the district to release the list of sites so that it can be considered when the Board of Supervisors decides on a proposal for a new landfill in Weldon Canyon, near Ojai.

“I will want to know, and any affected residents would want to know, whether the Weldon Canyon site is the best available, or whether more appropriate sites have been identified,” Supervisor Susan K. Lacey told the district in a statement.

Jim Jevens, project manager of Waste Management of North America, the company that hopes to operate the Weldon Canyon landfill, said he welcomes the release of the site list.

“If we are going to play on an even playing field, let’s release the lists,” he said.

A consultant hired by the district has drafted a list of 35 potential landfill sites to replace the Bailard dump.

A subcommittee of district members was assigned to decide how many of the sites should be disclosed to the public and how many should be studied further.

The district voted to reaffirm its commitment to a new landfill at the request of the panel’s new manager, Clinton L. Whitney, who replaced Wayne Bruce in June.