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Page 1 of 2 Print This Article Coalition fights expansion of Austin Road landfill Dennis Wyatt dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com 209-249-3519 September 19, 2013 Bruce Blodgett flippantly refers to the massive landfill to the east of Highway 99 in the direct flight approach to Stockton Metro Airport as "Mt. Stockton." At 200 feet and growing it is the tallest point in Stockton. But it's what you don't see that Blodgett, the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau executive director, believes is no joking matter. That includes: •Groundwater contamination that has forced nearby residents to rely on bottled water for drinking. *The loss of another 184 acres of prime farmland. •An attractive nuisance that draws seagulls to scavenge among garbage posing safety concerns for aircraft landing and taking off from Stockton Metro Airport. Blodgett is part of a coalition of farmers, environmentalists, rural residents and pilots trying to rally support in a bidpersuade the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisor from allowing the privatety owned Forward Landfill from expanding operations. The board is scheduled to vote on the plan Tuesday, Sept., 24, at 1:30 p.m. when they meet on the sixth floor of the county administrative center, 44 N. San Joaquin St., Stockton. County planning documents show Forward Landfill wants to increase its capacity by more than 100 percent to 55.1 million cubic yards. That will allow the facility to continue taking in garbage through 2039. At the current pace, the landfill will reach capacity in 2021. In both cases, that assumes 72 percent of the garbage buried there won't originate from San Joaquin County. The state website Cal Recycle notes that 72 percent of the waste processed at Forward Landfill is imported into the county primarily from the Bay Area as well as from out of California. C currently 600 trucks a day haul garage to the site. One plan called for that number to increase to 900 a day at the facility on North Austin Road some 7.2 miles northeast of downtown Manteca. The landfill is within the boundaries of the Manteca Unified School District and is considered part of rural north Manteca Manteca farmers Jeannie and Michael La Forge founded the non-profit Clean San Joaquin to combat expansion of the landfill that has racked up numerous violations including contaminating ground water, allowing underground fires to burn for months, and operating a composing facility without a proper permit. The Federal Aviation Administration views landfills are incompatible with safer airport operations due to how they attract scavenger birds. Planes leaving and arriving at Stockton Metro Airport have recorded 19 bird strikes since 1990. Forward Landfill has deployed http://www.mantecabulletin.com/section/l/article/85916/ 9/23/2013