A key decision is expected Monday night on the controversial hazardous landfill expansion proposed in Kettleman Hills.

The Kings County Planning Commission is scheduled to deliberate whether to approve the project by Waste Management and take a vote on the matter this evening. The meeting starts at 7 p.m. inside the Board of Supervisors Chambers.

Waste Management wants to expand the existing hazardous waste landfill by 14 acres and build a new 64-acre landfill at its Kettleman Hills Facility. The company says the project is necessary and important for the region because it will extend the Kettleman Hills Facility's hazardous waste capacity by more than 30 years.

There are only three landfills in California, and Kettleman is one of only two that still accept hazardous waste, such as batteries, lead paint and contaminated soil, making it a key facility for the state, the company says.

But the project is opposed by many residents of Kettleman City, a poor Latino community 3.5 miles from the landfills, and environmental justice activists. The opponents are worried about the project's impact on the health of Kettleman City residents, such as high incidence of birth defects. They argue that the project should not be approved until the investigation rules out environmental exposure as the cause.

Monday night's meeting comes two weeks after a heated public hearing attended by some 600 people. The meeting, held at the Kings Fairgrounds, was marked by heavy police security trying to quell the angry protesters.

(Oct. 17, 2009)