Update: On January 31, the Planning Commission voted to deny the Conditional Use Permit for the Landfill Expansion. After hearing public comments, the Planning Commissioners voted 4 to 1 to conceptually deny the project, with Commissioner Scagliotti being the opposing vote. County Staff was directed to return with written findings for denial of the conditional use permit on February 7th. The Planning Commission also voted 4-1 to recommend to the Board of Supervisors that they deny the General Plan Amendment. It is likely that Waste Connections (the landfill owner) will appeal this decision to the Board of Supervisors. We will keep you updated.

On Wednesday, January 31, the San Benito County Planning Commission will determine whether or not they recommend that the John Smith Road Landfill be expanded to five times its current size. If this landfill expansion is approved, it will turn hundreds of acres of rangeland into a mountain of garbage visible from Highway 25. The potential environmental risks include groundwater contamination, air pollution, and wear and tear on local roads. Green Foothills is urging the Planning Commission to deny the landfill expansion or, alternatively, put this issue on the ballot so the voters can decide.

What’s Happening

San Benito County is considering whether to approve an expansion of the John Smith Road Landfill, located just east of Hollister, from its current size of 95 acres to 483 acres – the size of 365 football fields. This massive expansion is not because San Benito County’s residents generate that much trash, but because the landfill operator is hoping to accept waste from neighboring counties in order to increase their revenue. Instead of the approximately 300 tons of trash per day generated by San Benito residents, the John Smith Road Landfill would become a mega-dump, receiving up to 2,300 tons of garbage per day, 87% of which would come from outside the county (primarily Silicon Valley).

Why It Matters

Expanding the landfill could have huge impacts on the environment. Contamination of groundwater is a serious concern. Recently, the landfill operators were forced to test the wells of nearby residents due to a leak of toxic PFAS (known as “forever chemicals”), and increasing the landfill would only create more risk of contamination. The landfill itself would use massive amounts of water, pulling up to 408,000 gallons per month from the aquifer. It would also increase air pollution. In addition to the methane gas pollution released by the landfill itself, significantly more trucks would be on the road, and the proposed haul route goes right by hospitals, shopping centers, homes, and grocery stores. At capacity, the landfill will change the landscape. The piles created would be so high that they would alter the views of the rolling hills in the area. It would take a beautiful region of the county and literally turn it into a mountain of trash.

Expanding the landfill would harm San Benito County. It could crowd the streets with truck traffic, deteriorate the roads, deplete and contaminate the aquifers, pollute the air, and forever alter the landscapes. We need to protect these essential resources for the safety of the community and the future of San Benito.

What You Can Do

Please use the form below to email the Planning Commissioners to ask them to deny the landfill expansion or, alternatively, put this issue on the ballot so the voters can decide.

Please share this alert with other concerned San Benito County residents, and encourage them to sign up for our e-newsletter for updates at greenfoothills.org/subscribe.