Casmalia Resources

The Casmalia Resources Hazardous Waste Landfill was a 252-acre disposal facility located in the hills near Casmalia, California. During its operation, 4.5 billion pounds of hazardous waste from up to 10,000 individuals, businesses and government agencies were dumped on site. The facility was closed in 1989.

The Casmalia Resources Hazardous Waste Landfill opened in 1973 as a dumpsite for waste products generated by small-scale oil and agricultural operations. The facility later expanded to accept hazardous wastes like PCBs, solvents and pesticides, becoming one of only two such facilities in the region. Approximately 40,000 gallons a day of toxic liquid waste were sent to Casmalia in the 1980s from Stringfellow Acid Pits, a hazardous waste dump in Southern California that was one of the first Superfund sites in the United States.

By 1985, over 50 truckloads a day of toxic waste were being dumped in Casmalia by a variety of generators. Respiratory diseases and other ailments began to surface among nearby residents and Casmalia Resources was identified as the likely cause of these health issues. The facility was temporarily shut down and cited for numerous violations, including the spraying of liquid toxic waste onto nearby hills to speed up the chemical evaporation process.

A public demonstration against the dump took place on August 12, 1985 as 70 townspeople blocked the entrance to the dump. The protest, reported by the Los Angeles Times, consisted of piling hay bales on the road to prevent trucks from delivering toxic waste shipments. Eleven people were arrested.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to increase the daily limit of truckloads of waste to 85, a significant expansion. Supervisor Toru Miyoshi was the lone vote against these plans. Miyoshi attended a rally in Casmalia at which a large group of residents traveled by caravan to a rally at the State Capitol, where they demanded Governor George Deukmejian close the dump.

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