Rep. George Whitesides, who flipped a highly competitive House seat in Los Angeles County from red to blue in November, has introduced his first bill as a member of Congress.
Called the Chiquita Canyon Tax Relief Act, the proposed legislation would allow Santa Clarita Valley residents impacted by noxious odors coming from the Chiquita Canyon landfill to avoid paying income tax on payments they have or will receive as compensation.
The landfill generated thousands of odor complaints last year, resulting in lawsuits by the county of Los Angeles as well as affected residents, some of whom complained of health issues or of being forced to remain indoors with windows closed. Operators of the landfill recently halted its solid waste operations.
Whitesides’ bill would make it so that payments residents receive from the Chiquita Canyon Community Relief Program; any future assistance from the county, state or federal government in response to the incident; or any future legal settlements would not be considered taxable income.
“My No. 1 priority is to lower the cost of living and ease the burden on families in my district,” Whitesides, D-Agua Dulce, said in an emailed statement. “I knew I wanted my first bill to reflect that goal and provide immediate financial relief to my community.”
Whitesides co-introduced a disaster recovery bill in late January following L.A. County’s catastrophic wildfires, but the Chiquita Canyon Tax Relief Act, introduced on Feb. 10, is his first standalone piece of legislation. It has been referred to the House Ways and Means Committee.
If the proposed legislation sounds familiar, that’s because it is.
Whitesides’ predecessor, former Rep. Mike Garcia, introduced essentially the same bill in October before losing his bid for reelection the following month.
“I introduced a bill that mirrors one by my predecessor because making progress for my constituents is more important than any kind of party affiliation,” Whitesides, a Democrat, said in reference to Garcia, a Republican.
Whitesides said that he would look for additional ways to hold the operators of Chiquita Canyon accountable to help affected residents.
A lawsuit brought by local residents alleged the Chiquita Canyon operator failed to properly manage the landfill’s gas capture, control systems and leachate systems. Leachate is a polluted liquid that forms from rainwater filtering through solid waste.
This resulted in elevated and harmful levels of carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide and volatile organic gases to be emitted, thus creating unsafe living conditions, residents alleged in their lawsuit.
Residents previously complained of daily exposure to foul odors, migraine headaches, nausea, bloody noses, respiratory issues and even cardiac complications.
In addition, the county of Los Angeles alleged that families were forced to stay indoors, sometimes with the air conditioning running all day, and were unable to spend time outdoors, even in their yards.
Chiquita Canyon ceased its solid waste operations late last year.
“Chiquita remains committed to working with federal, state, regional and local authorities to protect public health and to continue addressing the (elevated temperature landfill event), and will also continue working to maintain compliance with its permits, governing orders and agreements,” Steve Cassulo, district manager for Chiquita Canyon, wrote in an email to residents in December.
City News Service contributed reporting.