{"id":173491,"date":"2026-02-11T14:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/173491\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:18:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:18:11","slug":"south-oc-residents-protest-plans-to-double-trash-capacity-at-local-landfill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/173491\/","title":{"rendered":"South OC Residents Protest Plans To Double Trash Capacity At Local Landfill"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Orange County residents recently got a whiff of county plans to double trash deliveries at Prima Deshecha, the county\u2019s biggest landfill down in San Juan Capistrano.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And they\u2019re not happy about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The increase in deliveries comes as many have noticed the landfill recently jumped over to the east side of La Pata Road, with bulldozers starting to take out nearby hillsides in what many see as a massive expansion.<\/p>\n

County officials say the increased intake is not an expansion, and that plans for the landfill to jump to the other side of the road have been in place for years. But many of the residents who are watching the expanding scarring of nearby hillsides and heavier traffic see otherwise.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A view of the Prima Deshecha landfill on Wednesday, Oct. 1. 2025. Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

Hundreds of local residents recently started ringing alarm bells, reaching out to their county Supervisor Katrina Foley, prompting her to abruptly announce this past weekend that a planned virtual meeting to discuss the project was canceled and landfill plans were paused.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Foley said she wasn\u2019t adequately informed about the project, and publicly announced on Sunday afternoon that she had \u201cdirected OC Waste and Recycling to cancel the upcoming public meeting and pause any plans for expansion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve successfully shut this whole thing down,\u201d Foley said in an interview last Friday. \u201cThe bottom line is this should not have been rolled out like this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

But on Tuesday morning during the board of supervisor\u2019s regular meeting, County CEO Michelle Aguirre stated the project was not getting shut down.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to clarify this is not a cancellation of the project,\u201d Aguirre said. \u201cJust the public meeting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, county supervisors are looking to host a broader discussion about the landfill\u2019s expansion and whether one county supervisor has the power to direct county staff without their colleagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

County Staff Look to Expand Landfill Amid Brea Closure\u00a0<\/p>\n

Orange County\u2019s Waste and Recycling team quietly released an environmental impact report last month showcasing plans to increase the landfill\u2019s daily maximum trash intake from 4,000 tons to 8,000 tons per day.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The original cap was set in 1976 when the landfill opened, which OC Waste and Recycling Director Tom Koutroulis said they need to raise as they ramp up plans to close down their Brea Olinda Alpha landfill within the next decade and shift to a system of only two landfills instead of three.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Prima Deshecha landfill on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA Voice of OC.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe landfill system capacity is decreasing with the upcoming closure of OAL,\u201d Koutroulis wrote in a statement to Voice of OC. \u201cThe proposed increase is intended to support essential waste disposal needs within the County, as part of the region\u2019s long-term solid waste disposal plan. Any increase in landfill tonnage will be gradual.\u201d<\/p>\n

County staff have been publicly talking about expanding the landfill\u2019s intake<\/a> since 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In addition to the increased trash per day, the county is currently building a new expansion to the Prima Deshecha landfill on the other side of La Pata Road that will continue to accept trash for nearly a hundred years, through 2102 according to the environmental impact report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite county staff treating the increase as unavoidable and customary, the report warns that the increase in intake alone is set to lead to \u201csignificant and unavoidable,\u201d impacts for many of the residents near the landfill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Proposed Project would result in new significant and unavoidable GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions,\u201d wrote county staff. \u201cAdditionally, the Proposed Project would substantially increase the impacts related to air quality.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Foley Intervenes to Cancel Meeting and Pause Project<\/p>\n

Foley said she had no idea about the expansion in trash deliveries until residents contacted her office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After she heard, she said she called Aguirre and Koutroulis and requested a neighborhood meeting about the project be canceled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur office was not informed that this was being done by (OC) Waste and Recycling, and I learned about this from all the residents starting to email me,\u201d Foley said. \u201cI have challenged them to do a better job at looking at the landfill as something we\u2019re trying to decrease, not increase.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Orange County Board of Supervisor Katrina Foley during the Jan. 28, 2025 meeting in Santa Ana. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bottom line is this should not have been rolled out like this,\u201d she continued. \u201cThis was just thrown out to the community like it\u2019s going to happen and we haven\u2019t even had a chance to review this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also noted she asked for county staff to cancel the public meeting because she wanted staff to see how strong the pushback is.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know that this current iteration will even be the same after all the comments are synthesized,\u201d Foley said. \u201cI think it\u2019s important we keep the public comment period open even though we\u2019re cancelling the meeting\u2026the community does not support expanding.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nearby residents are worried and have been consistently warning county officials since 2023 about problems at the landfill according to public documents reviewed by Voice of OC.<\/p>\n

\u201cDust from the winds is blowing into my neighborhood. The current grading is creating loose dust\/dirt and it\u2019s not being properly medicated,\u201d wrote one resident from San Clemente on the county\u2019s complaint portal on Nov. 6 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"A view of the Prima Deshecha landfill on Wednesday, Oct. 1. 2025. Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA, Voice of OC<\/p>\n

Another resident from San Juan Capistrano wrote the dust coated their home in dust so thick it was \u201cvirtually unusable,\u201d with clogged air ducts, filthy cars, and a reduction to their solar panels because the dirt was so thick it blocked out the sunlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth myself and my son sneeze frequently throughout the day and have chronic coughs and heavy congestion in our sinuses at night making it difficult to sleep,\u201d they wrote. \u201cWe are deeply concerned as to what will be the long term consequences of this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Supervisors Raise Concern Over Landfill\u2019s Management\u00a0<\/p>\n

County Supervisors Janet Nguyen and Don Wagner raised concerns on Tuesday morning about the landfill, questioning how Foley had the power to unilaterally cancel a neighborhood meeting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nguyen questioned how much Koutroulis had told supervisors about the expansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s claims out there that there was no communication at all,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cDId you guys communicate?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was some communication,\u201d Koutroulis said. \u201cBut it was deemed insufficient.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wagner brought up concerns that Foley could directly order staff to do anything, highlighting that board action could only be ordered with a majority vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAny one of us has no legal authority in this country to do things,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cThree of us, any three of us, can do anything the county is allowed to do. One of us can\u2019t direct you. Do you understand that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI do now,\u201d Koutroulis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The appliance drop off area at the Prima Deshecha landfill on Wednesday, January 22, 2025. Credit: MAXIMO SANTANA Voice of OC.<\/p>\n

Foley said that she never received a briefing, and that under normal circumstances she should receive a briefing about major projects happening in her own district.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason why we paused the process was because despite Mr. Koutroulis\u2019 comment about it was insufficient, implying there was some kind of briefing to the board, there was no briefing,\u201d Foley said.\u201cI think we did that in consultation so it was helping the community to understand we were listening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also noted the project will eventually come back before the board, and that as supervisor for District 5 she should be informed on it and take the lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is something that does directly impact District 5,\u201d Foley said. \u201cWe aren\u2019t going to all start getting involved in the planning and projects for each of our districts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wagner said while he respected Foley\u2019s position as the representative of District 5, it didn\u2019t mean the project could be held up forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason to stop this is it\u2019s in District 5 and District 5 has not been briefed\u2026I respect that,\u201d Wagner said to Koutroulis. \u201cYou got time tomorrow to brief District 5?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would make time,\u201d Koutroulis said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Foley said she couldn\u2019t meet this week, noting again it would come back before the board.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not available this week to do it cause I wasn\u2019t expecting this, so I don\u2019t have a plan for it,\u201d Foley said. \u201cWe are going to work out when that briefing can occur.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Supervisor Doug Chaffee, who chairs the board, also reiterated the project was not dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe project will move forward,\u201d Chaffee said, noting \u201cthe public needs ample opportunity to have their questions answered.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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