A coalition of community groups opposing Waste Management's Kettleman Hills operation announced Friday that it will appeal Monday's Kings County Planning Commission decision to approve the company's controversial landfill expansion plan.

Waste Management plans to expand its existing hazardous waste landfill by 14 acres and build a new 64-acre landfill. The company says -- and the county planning commissioners agreed -- the project is important because Kettleman is one of only two in the state that accepts hazardous waste and because the expansion will extend the life of the facility by more than 30 years.

But the project has been opposed by community activists from Kettleman City and environmental justice groups, which accuse the county's public process of being unfair and complain about the project's cumulative impact on nearby residents' health. They also argue that the project should not be approved unless the county investigates the cause of the recent spike in birth defects and infant deaths in Kettleman City.

After an eight-hour marathon hearing held earlier this month, the commission reconvened on Monday and approved the expansion project. Meanwhile, state agencies are trying to decide whether radioactive waste from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory can be sent to Kettleman even though its permit does not normally allow radioactive materials.

The appeal asks county supervisors to reject the permit issued to Waste Management for the project. The appeal alleges numerous defects and violations in the permit process.

The groups claim that the Local Assessment Committee process was illegal, that the environmental health risk analysis was faulty and that the county failed to investigate the increase in birth defects and infant deaths near the landfill site.

The appeal further alleges that the county refused to translate any documents into Spanish despite a 1991 court ruling that ordered it to do so in a similar matter, and that the environmental assessment failed to acknowledge the fact that radioactive materials that do not usually meet Waste Management's permit provision are being proposed for shipment to the facility.

Kettleman City groups have vowed to sue the county if necessary.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(Oct. 24, 2009)