Val Verde, CA — Amid the rolling hills of Val Verde, a community is grappling with a severe environmental crisis emanating from the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, managed by Waste Connections, Inc. Local residents, backed by legal action from Kruger Law Firm, are ringing alarm bells over myriad health issues and environmental dangers they claim have been caused by inadequate waste containment strategies at the landfill.
Jackie Kruger, a prominent attorney representing the affected residents, emphasized the extensive damage inflicted upon the community. “Physical, mental, and economic harm have befallen the residents, severely impacting their daily lives due to the toxic substances leaking into the air and water,” Kruger stated.
The plight of Sargon and Doris Eshaya, residents of Val Verde for over 16 years, encapsulates the profound personal struggles many locals continue to face. Once able to enjoy the natural beauty surrounding their home, the couple now suffer from debilitating health issues that have disrupted their lives and intimacy. “It’s heart-wrenching not being able to hold my wife at night because of the intense discomfort and pain,” Sargon shared sorrowfully.
Parents in the community face another layer of distress concerning their children’s safety. The proximity of schools to the landfill has led to a growing anxiety among parents, struggling with decisions about whether to send their children to school amidst health concerns. This has been complicated by reports of threatening truancy letters being issued to families who keep their children at home for safety reasons.
An anonymous parent from Live Oak Elementary School expressed her frustration, noting that her child’s exposure at school seemed significantly more harmful than at home, yet keeping her child home triggered punitive measures from the school district.
In response to the allegations, local schools have not yet introduced any formal measures to accommodate or protect students from potential toxic exposure, leaving parents to wrestle with difficult choices about their children’s education and well-being.
Meanwhile, employees working at nearby facilities, including Amazon warehouses and entertainment studios, also report exposure to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals such as benzene. These reported levels often meet or exceed the recommended exposure limits, prompting serious concerns over workplace safety and health violations.
Kruger underscored that the employers’ failure to ensure safe working conditions might expose them to significant legal liabilities. Both OSHA and California Labor Code mandate the provision of a safe working environment, an obligation seemingly compromised in this situation.
Despite nearly 300 days of escalating complaints to the Air Quality Management District, the state of California has not declared a State of Emergency. Such a declaration could unlock crucial resources and enable residents to cover relocation costs through their homeowners insurance, similar to provisions made during the 2015 Aliso Canyon Gas Leak.
Kruger’s lamentation that residents’ right to exist safely has been undermined captures the essence of the crisis at Val Verde—a community caught between the pressing need for immediate relief and the complex, slow-moving wheels of environmental and health regulatory mechanisms.
As this legal and environmental battle unfolds, the Kruger Law Firm continues to strive for justice and compensation for the myriad damages suffered by the community, highlighting both the immediate and long-term needs for remedies that truly restore safety and health to this beleaguered community.