The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved expanding the Tajiguas Landfill by 14.25 acres, after plans to extend the life of the landfill failed to deliver on its promise.

Doug Kern, executive director of the Gaviota Coast Conservancy, spoke out against increasing capacity at the landfill during public comment on Tuesday. 

“The proposed landfill expansion is a temporary Band-Aid on a much larger wound,” Kern said. “Santa Barbara County deserves better. The ReSource Center is not working, as we all recognize. Promising us a solution, it has led us to this critical juncture needing more landfill space on the Gaviota Coast, an international biodiversity hot spot.”

The ReSource Center was expected to extend the landfill’s service life until 2038, but a recent capacity analysis showed that the landfill will reach capacity by 2026 if nothing is done, according to Public Works.

The board directed Public Works staff to come back in six months with a report about waste diversion and reduction and ideas to engage the community in reduction efforts. It also directed staff that they report back within one month with an update on negotiations with the Gaviota Coast Conservancy regarding closing the landfill by 2038 and making the conservancy a land manager for the Baron Ranch Area.

Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann said the county should find new ways of reducing waste.

“I think education is really important, and we haven’t really raised the alarm, but I think we all need to put our heads together and think about what are best practices that we can be doing,” Hartmann said. 

Approving the expansion means the county can avoid having to transport and dispose of waste elsewhere.

The last time the Tajiguas Landfill was approved for expansion was in 2002. A reconfiguration of the waste footprint was approved in 2009, but that had no change in capacity. 

A ReSource Center consisting of a Materials Recovery Facility, an Anaerobic Digestion Facility and a Compost Management Unit was approved in 2016 in order to extend the life of the Tajiguas Landfill by increasing diversion of waste away from the landfill disposal without an expansion; however, some issues with the project have now contributed to the need for the landfill increase capacity project. 

In December, the county terminated its contract with MSB Investors, which was set to construct and operate the ReSource Center’s facilities.

Public Works staff told the board that MSB Investors failed to complete development by the agreed-upon deadline and failed acceptance tests, which led to violations from numerous regulatory agencies. 

The county has new long-term contracts with MarBorg Industries and Bekon Energy Technologies for operating landfill facilities.  

With the ReSource Center being delayed, the landfill received more than the expected amount of waste that can be processed at the Materials Recovery Facility.

Construction is expected to begin this summer, and the permitted disposal area will go from 118 acres to 132.25 acres, and the landfill’s maximum elevation would go from 620 feet above mean sea level to 650 feet above mean sea level. 

The additional waste will be placed on top of the existing waste disposal area, and additional waste disposal capacity will be created by excavating a new fill area to the north of the waste footprint. 

The project also will change operating hours for waste receipt at the Tajiguas Landfill scale house from 56 hours a week to 60 hours. However, landfill operating hours will stay from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The project won’t be without significant impacts such as generating greenhouse gas emissions from construction equipment and decomposition of solid waste, according to Public Works.

The project also will result in the loss of habitat for Crotch’s bumblebee, which is a candidate to be added to the state’s endangered species list. Public Works staff said they are working with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to minimize impacts.

There also could be impacts on sensitive plants, wildlife, and nesting birds, according to Public Works staff.

During public comment and Tuesday’s board meeting, members of the public who live near the landfill said operational issues in the past two years have caused a severe odor that has led to health issues and increased litter and debris on the beach and in the ocean. 

Members of the public expressed concerns that expanding the landfill’s capacity would increase the current negative impacts.