Public Health and Safety
In order for Singpoli to build its hotel, villas, conference space, lakes, parking lots, and other facilities they will have to extensively disturb this land. This creates the risk of exposure of residents to dust contaminated hazardous waste and partially decomposed trash.
In addition, those construction activities could change how water runs off of BKK and how it seeps into the groundwater. The contaminated groundwater plume already flowing from the BKK landfill is currently being studied by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.
Redeveloping landfills and transforming them into something else has unique risks and challenges. We believe substantially more information and assurances are needed from the City of West Covina and any developer about how these risks and challenges will be handled.
Multiple landfills in the U.S. have been successfully transformed into parks, wildlife preserves that include hiking and recreational amenities for people, and even into solar photovoltaic fields. The successful case studies we've reviewed have all included a strong emphasis, from concept through construction, on ensuring public health and safety.