This article was written by BenitoLink intern Camille Mattish. Lea este articulo en español aquí.
By the end of March, the San Benito County Board of Supervisors is expected to make a decision on an environmental report for the proposed John Smith Road Landfill expansion project.
The only public landfill in SBC is nearing capacity due to contracted waste from Santa Clara County. It cannot be expanded without an approved Environmental Impact Report (EIR).
On Feb. 9, Waste Solutions Group of San Benito County LLC, which operates the facility, appealed the San Benito County Planning Commission’s decision against certifying the environmental impact report required for the project.
A board of supervisor hearing on the matter is set for March 26 at 1:30 p.m., Abraham Prado, Resource Management Agency assistant director of planning and building, told BenitoLink.
The project has been a source of controversy as those who oppose it have raised concerns about air, noise and water pollution, as well as its impact on nearby roads from trucks transporting waste from outside the county.
Waste Solutions has said it is not financially feasible to operate the landfill without accepting out-of-county trash. After the landfill reached a 15-year capacity for in-county trash, the county stopped accepting out-of-county trash in March 2022.
The Planning Commission denied certification of the environmental report because it found benefits such as revenue did not outweigh the impacts in greenhouse gasses, air quality and aesthetics.
The planners also rejected a conditional use permit, which is required and an amendment to the General Plan, which serves as the county’s blueprint for growth.
The project proposes to expand the existing 95-acre landfill to 483 acres. According to the project’s environmental impact report, this would increase the 58 acres of waste footprint to 311 acres. The altitude would increase from 920 feet to 949 feet, meaning the landfill would be higher than the surrounding hills. Also, the waste tonnage limit would increase from 1,000 tons per day to up to 2,300 tons per day.
The landfill is owned by the county and operated by Waste Solutions since 2005.
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