Chiquita Canyon, Plainly
Where the landfill's elevated temperature event stands — the dates, the orders, and where to file odor complaints.
The Chiquita Canyon landfill in Castaic has had a smoldering chemical reaction underground since around May 2022 — regulators call it an elevated temperature event. It is the source of the odors that Val Verde, Castaic and Hasley Hills have lived with since 2023, and the paperwork around it moves constantly. This page keeps the current state written down in plain language. Last checked June 12, 2026; the linked official pages are always more current than we are.
The underground reaction (the smell)
In force nowBurning underground since approximately May 2022, per EPA; it did not stop when the landfill closed.
A chemical reaction deep in a closed section of the landfill generates extreme heat, gases and large volumes of contaminated liquid (leachate). It is the cause of the persistent odors and the health complaints residents have reported since early 2023. Officials have said reactions like this can continue for years.
EPA's Chiquita Canyon page — the most complete official record
Waste acceptance
EndedThe landfill stopped accepting waste on January 1, 2025.
Chiquita Canyon closed to new waste at the start of 2025. The operator, Chiquita Canyon LLC (a Waste Connections company), still manages the site, the reaction response, and closure work. Closing the gate did not end the underground reaction — the response work continues on a closed site.
EPA orders and this year's deadlines
In force nowEPA's March 17, 2026 orders set two deadlines: leachate aeration treatment by May 12, 2026, and a stabilizing soil buttress on the western slope by September 15, 2026.
EPA first ordered protective action on February 21, 2024, finding the site presented an imminent and substantial endangerment to nearby communities. After a March 5, 2026 inspection found deteriorating conditions on the landfill's western slope, EPA ordered the additional work above. In April 2026, the county and EPA publicly pressed the operator about the pace of that work.
The May 12 deadline has now passed; as of our last check we had not found public confirmation of whether it was met. The EPA page is where that record will appear.
The lawsuits
In force nowLA County sued the operator and its parent companies on December 16, 2024; many residents have filed their own suits.
The county's federal lawsuit says the operator failed to control the reaction and let odors, gases and leachate burden the surrounding communities. Separate civil suits by residents are working through the courts on their own schedules. None of this litigation has a published end date.
Odor complaints
In force nowSouth Coast AQMD takes odor complaints around the clock: 1-800-CUT-SMOG (1-800-288-7664), or the online form.
Complaints are how the air district documents the problem — they have driven the abatement orders and the violation notices, even when filing one feels like shouting into a canyon. AQMD had logged more than 20,000 odor complaints about the site by late 2024.
For health questions and community updates, the multi-agency response group posts at cclresponse.com, and EPA takes questions at cclresponse@epa.gov.
Dates ahead
September 15, 2026
EPA's deadline for the western-slope soil buttress
From the March 17, 2026 order. Treat it as ordered, not promised — earlier deadlines in this saga have slipped.