The Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility is a large (1,600 acre; 4,000 hectare) hazardous waste and municipal solid waste disposal facility, operated by Waste Management, Inc. The landfill is located at , southwest of Kettleman City on State Route 41 in the western San Joaquin Valley, Kings County, California.
Environmental justice health issues have been an ongoing concern for the community and waste facility. The Kettleman Hills Hazardous Waste Facility is frequently criticized for its alleged health threats by the local organization 'The Town for Clean Air and Water' (El Pueblo para El Aire y Agua Limpio), and by environmental groups such as Greenaction. Waste Management, Inc. counters that it is a significant local employer, and donates funds to the local community, including Kettleman City Elementary School. The facility manager, Bob Henry, pointed out in a 2007 newspaper interview that it is periodically inspected by as many as nine federal, state, and local agencies. In 2007, Maricela Mares-Alatorre, a leader of 'People for Clean Air and Water,' was quoted as saying: "Are we supposed to be happy that they're getting more trash? Donations don't buy you health."
Historical overview of related environmental controversies
1975–1990
In June 1975 Kings County, CA issued a permit to McKay Trucking for the disposal of oil field wastes in the Kettleman Hills area. Subsequently, in 1979, the land was bought by Chemical Waste Management, Inc., a subsidiary of Waste Management, Inc. In 1982, Chemical Waste Management, Inc. received a permit for the processing of PCBs (known carcinogens), and soon after a Class I waste disposal permit that allowed for the processing of nearly any type of hazardous waste. At the time, the establishment of this facility and its repurposing to a full Class I hazardous waste disposal site went unnoticed by the residents of Kettleman City within 4 miles away from the facility. Community opposition and awareness of the facility emerged in the early 1980s; motivated in part by articles published in local newspapers about multimillion-dollar fines levied against Chemical Waste Management, Inc. for violating environmental laws.
Because of its low average socioeconomic standing and 95% Latino population, Kettleman City and the nearby waste disposal site attracted the attention of the environmental justice movement. Advocates argued that Chemical Waste Management, Inc. and the local government were practicing environmental racism, pointing out that the nearest communities to all three major waste disposal sites in California were poor and almost entirely non-white. Environmental Justice groups also cited the 1984 Cerrell Report by the California Waste Management Board that suggested placing waste disposal sites and incinerators primarily in the communities that would be least able to resist. In 1988, a phone call from Greenpeace organizer Bradley Angel revealed to the Kettleman community that Chemical Waste Management, Inc. was planning to add a toxic waste incinerator to the disposal facility. Several residents attended a preliminary hearing on the incinerator and were concerned that a potential health risk would be placed so close to their town. This trial marked the beginning of a community-led grassroots environmental justice movement in Kettleman City, as well as the beginning of the ongoing conflict between the people of Kettleman City and Chemical Waste Management, Inc. In 1989, more than 200 residents from Kettleman City showed up to testify at the Kings County Planning Commission hearing on the incinerator project. When the incinerator project was approved, the residents of Kettleman City filed a lawsuit against Chemical Waste Management, Inc., alleging that their environmental impact report did not comply with the California Environmental Quality Act. A trial court ruled that Chemical Waste Management, Inc. had not sufficiently analyzed the environmental and health impacts of the incinerator, and had failed to provide a full Spanish version of their impacts report, preventing participation from Kettleman City residents. The company appealed the court's decision, but dropped the plans for the incinerator before an appeal decision had been reached.