Former Simi Valley Dump No Threat to Residents, Study Says : Toxic chemicals: Leaks have penetrated to ground water under the landfill. The findings echo those released earlier by state inspectors.

A former landfill site in Simi Valley, which was found to be leaking toxic chemicals into ground water beneath the property, poses no immediate threat to residents living nearby, according to a study released this week.

“It is not a Love Canal or a seething mass that is going to kill everything within a 25-mile radius,” said David Burkhart, assistant general manager of the Ventura Regional Sanitation District. The district commissioned the study, conducted by a Ventura--based geological consulting firm.

The area surrounding the 40-acre dump site north of Lleverachno Road is not heavily populated, but a small subdivision of houses begins between 500 and 1,000 feet from the edge of the landfill.

Burkhart said the district’s study found that the traces of toxic chemicals in ground water under the landfill “do not constitute hazardous concentrations.” The ground water beneath the dump is not used for drinking.

“Nobody should panic,” Burkhart said. “There is no impending catastrophe.”

But he said problems at the old landfill could become serious if appropriate measures are not taken to clean up the site.

The study expresses concern that the old landfill site might be unstable, he said. He said more work is needed to determine whether cracks in the topsoil covering the dump are the result of natural settling or the physical sliding of the landfill.

Also, he said the sanitation district’s study recommends realigning the nearby Arroyo Simi flood-control channel to keep it from eroding into an area where trash is buried.

The findings in the study echo many of those made by state inspectors following a survey of the site May 17. The state inspection prompted the California Regional Water Quality Control Board to order the landfill site cleaned up because of the potential for health and safety problems arising from the chemical leaks.

The former landfill site was operated by the county from 1962 until 1972. The Ventura Regional Sanitation District, a public agency, was responsible for overseeing the closing of the landfill, now primarily owned by the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, Burkhart said. The city of Simi Valley owns about four acres of the property.

In addition to the park district and the city, the sanitation district and the Ventura County Public Works Department were named in the state’s order as the agencies responsible for cleaning up the site. The agencies have until July 15 to submit a cleanup plan.

Meanwhile, the county and the city of Simi Valley recently agreed to contribute $125,000 each toward such a plan. The board of directors of the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District were scheduled to vote Wednesday night on whether to make a similar contribution.

But officials of all agencies continue to deny responsibility for the actual cleanup of the old dump site, estimated to cost from $5 million to $10 million. They said the issue might end up in court.

Mayor Greg Stratton said the city is taking the position that the county and the sanitation district are ultimately responsible for the cleanup.

“We’re participating in the cleanup study,” Stratton said. “But we’re going to pursue legal remedies to make sure that the county and the sanitation district pay for the cleanup.”