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Hollister City Council will send a letter to the county opposing specific portions of the John Smith Road Landfill expansion project.
The council heard a presentation on the project during its Jan. 16 meeting. The council unanimously agreed to send a letter to the San Benito County Planning Commission opposing the recommended haul route along Hwy 25 and proposing alternate options. It also opted to receive further direction about the Class 1 area—a hazardous waste disposal site owned and operated by the city of Hollister— at a future meeting.
The project’s proposed haul route would have trucks travel on Hwy 25 and exit on Best Road, then proceed to the landfill.
Councilmember Rolan Resendiz urged council members to reach out to the Planning Commission to oppose the expansion project and allow residents vote on it.
Resendiz also reminded the council that Waste Management offered to clean the Class 1 area, thus relieving the city of that obligation.
Councilmembers Tim Burns, Rick Perez and Mia Casey supported sending a letter to the Planning Commission.
“I certainly don’t support the expansion of the dump in any way, shape or form,” Burns said, calling the project “outrageous.”
Councilmember Morales asked city staff to look into the possibility of forgoing the ownership of the Class 1 area in order to clear the city of responsibility.
Sixteen public speakers gave comments. Fifteen didn’t mention the Class 1 area, but voiced their general opposition to the landfill expansion.
Elia Salinas claimed the Class 1 area was mismanaged by the company hired to oversee it. She also warned the council that cleaning the area would be expensive.
“Class 1 and you’re responsible for it,” Salinas told the council. “And it’s going to cost you tens of millions of dollars.”
City Clerk Jennifer Woodworth said Waste Connections manages the city’s property at the landfill.
Most of the speakers addressed the project’s environmental impact, pollution and traffic concerns.
Bella Rosales, a Hollister resident, spoke against the expansion.
“Although the decision ultimately will come from the county, this City Council should be just as concerned about a possible expansion because it won’t just affect the area around the landfill, it’ll affect the entire city and every person in it,” she said.
The 5.11-acre Class 1 area, located in the northeast corner of the landfill, consists of two impoundment ponds. One pond collected hazardous waste and the other was used as an overflow pond, Hollister City Manager David Mirrione told BenitoLink. The site is currently closed to the public and cannot be used.
In 1983, the Class 1 area stopped receiving hazardous waste, Mirrione said. The closure was approved by the California Department of Health Services and the federal Environmental Protection Agency in 1991. A post-closure notice was certified by Hollster in 1993, according to the department.
According to the landfill expansion’s final environmental impact report, clean closure—the removal of waste from the Class 1 area—requires hazardous material excavation, material export to a disposal site and soil testing.
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