The Toyon Canyon Landfill is a controversial landfill wholly within

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...

in the

Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

hillside neighborhood of greater Hollywood in central

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

. Filling began in 1957 and ended in 1985. A lawsuit in 1959 attempted to stop the project but was unsuccessful. A summary of the lawsuit is availabl
here
There was a move in the 1980s to expand the landfill int
Royce's Canyon
to the northwest, but that was defeated.

Landfill gas Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane ...

is collected from the decomposing waste and used for power generation. The landfill is managed by th
Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation
which plans to have "low intensity open meadow area intended for passive recreational activities". The landfill was 'closed' (to the specifications of the regulatory agencies) as of December 31, 2008. The landfill will be maintained and monitored in accordance with SCAQMD 1150.1, provisions of AB 32, and other regulations for at least 30 years. The landfill is being landscaped with native plants such as

toyon ''Heteromeles arbutifolia'' (; more commonly by Californian botanists), commonly known as toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to extreme southwest Oregon, California, and the Baja California Peninsula. It is the sole species in the genus ...

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

California poppy ''Eschscholzia californica'', the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental pla ...

, lupine and others, while non-native plants such as

mustard Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...

and

tumbleweed A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumbl ...

are being actively removed. In June 2012 the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board approved a revised Waste Discharge Requirements (permit) for Toyon Canyon, after opportunity for public input. It took effect July 1, 2012. The landfill is clearly visible from

California State Route 2 State Route 2 (SR 2) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It connects the Los Angeles Basin with the San Gabriel Mountains and the Victor Valley in the Mojave Desert. The highway's southwestern end is at the intersection of C ...

, Route 134 (Ventura Freeway) and

I-5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

freeways in Los Angeles and from the surrounding hillsides. It's also visible on Google Earth. ( 34° 8'38.36"N 118°18'6.29"W) During the May 2007 fire in Griffith Park, the

helispot Helitack crews are teams of wildland firefighters who are transported by helicopter to wildfires. Helicopters provide rapid transport, enabling helitack crews to quickly respond and assess a wildfire situation. Helitack crews may land near a w ...

was used to help fight the fire. At times there were two helicopters on the pad and a third waiting to fill its tank.

Technical data

*Filled Area: *Total Weight of Trash: 16,000,000 tons *Total Volume of fill: 30,700,000 cubic yards *Type of Material Disposed of: Class III waste (residential garbage, street sweepings, Construction and demolition waste) *Number of Gas Extraction Wells: 200 approx. *Active Groundwater Monitoring Wells: 13 *Landfill Gas Migration Monitoring Probes: 16 (single and multi-depth) *Ambient Air Monitoring Stations: 2 *AQMD Site permits (on AQMD's site with emissions and compliance data)
LA CityPower Plant - current
an
Power Plant - older
*Power Generation Equipment: 2 internal combustion engines *Power Plant Owner

*Power Plant Operator

ref> *Landfill Gas Flare
John Zink
diameter, 5 burner tips, 2000 cfm capacity (on standby). *Regulatory Agencies:

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it ...

Cal. EPACalifornia Integrated Waste Management Board

California Air Resources Board The California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) is the "clean air agency" of the government of California. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Moto ...

, SCAQMD
State Water Resources Control Board - Los Angeles
an

Movies and television

Like much of Los Angeles and Southern California, Griffith Park has been used in countless movies and television shows. Toyon Canyon, the adjoining section Mt. Hollywood Drive, and associated areas have appeared in the following (among others): *Ghost Whisper - several times *E.R. - doubling for Croatia *Terminator 3 *Grey's Anatomy - the crash that leads to the death of Dr. McDreamy *Scorpion - 2 episodes *Mad Men *Jericho *Criminal Minds *The Unit *Splinter *The Fast and the Furious *2 Fast 2 Furious *The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift *Sons of Anarchy *numerous commercials for cars
a notable commercial for car insurance
*a music video *several student films

References

External links

LAcitysan.org: Toyon Canyon Landfill factsheetLeagle.com: Griffith v. City of Los Angeles Lawsuit (1950-1985)
{{coord, 34, 08, 38.36, N, 118, 18, 06.29, W, type:landmark_source:enwiki-plaintext-parser, display=title Landfills in California Griffith Park Environment of Los Angeles Santa Monica Mountains 1957 establishments in California Former landfills in California

Technical data

Movies and television

See also

References

External links