PORT HUENEME : Council Stands by Landfill Expansion

After hearing the plea of a Fillmore councilman, Port Hueneme officials said Wednesday they will not reverse their vote supporting a tenfold expansion of the Toland Road Landfill.

Fillmore Councilman Roger Campbell, whose city is near the landfill, urged the Port Hueneme City Council to ask a county trash agency to take a second vote on the issue.

But Port Hueneme officials said they wanted to consult with council colleague Orvene Carpenter, the city’s expert on the landfill issue, before making any decisions. Carpenter has been hospitalized with a heart-related illness.

Campbell’s presentation came two months after the Ventura Regional Sanitation District approved an environmental study that could clear the way for an expansion of the Toland Road Landfill, which lies between Fillmore and Santa Paula.

If expanded, Toland would accept the trash that now goes to Oxnard’s Bailard Landfill, which is set to close in 18 months.

The regional sanitation board includes a council member from every city in the county except Simi Valley and a member representing unincorporated areas.

If Port Hueneme council members had agreed to Campbell’s request, they could have asked the district board, which meets today, to set the issue for another vote.