Whittier : Methane Study of Dump OKd

The Whittier City Council has hired a private engineering firm to conduct a five-year study of the Savage Canyon landfill, where potentially hazardous levels of methane gas were detected earlier this month. The council voted 5 to 0 Tuesday night to hire Mandeville & Associates, a Los Angeles-based firm, to examine the landfill and make recommendations on how to safely manage the site. The cost of the contract is $34,500.

All commercial and residential trash collected in the city is deposited at the landfill, which is located east of Uptown Whittier. The state Waste Management Board discovered several pockets of methane at the dump during tests in December and January.

City officials said the gas does not present any immediate danger to residents. City Manager Tom Mauk said it will probably cost about $500,000 to install a methane recovery and monitoring system to correct the problem.