OC supervisor faces questions over landfill expansion awareness

Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley is under scrutiny after emails show county waste officials and residents notified her in 2023 of a plan to double landfill capacity at Prima Deshecha — undermining her public claim that the expansion came as a surprise, Voice of OC reported Thursday.

The controversy centers on a planned expansion that would double the waste capacity at a South County landfill, raising questions about transparency and how OC government communicates major infrastructure decisions to elected officials and the communities they represent.

Foley said she cannot recall the 2023 notifications because of the high volume of county correspondence she receives, Voice of OC reported. OC Waste and Recycling staff, as well as residents, had previously alerted her office to plans that would double the amount of waste accepted at the South County site.

The disclosure deepens a standoff between county officials and South County communities organized against the expansion. Residents near the facility have pressed officials over environmental and public health implications of the project.

In a separate court development, an OC Superior Court judge overturned a $2.9 million jury verdict in a retaliation case involving a former Santa Ana police administrator, according to Voice of OC. A retired police chief and a former police union leader were also named in the lawsuit.

Several Orange County cities are wrestling with significant budget shortfalls. Fullerton hired an accounting firm to resolve a $10 million discrepancy in available city reserves. Both Fullerton and Orange are weighing cannabis retail licensing as a new source of tax revenue, Voice of OC reported.

Fountain Valley raised trash collection rates for residents, citing cost increases tied to countywide landfill operations. Fullerton is advancing a ban on synthetic kratom, while Mission Viejo is considering a broader prohibition covering all forms of the substance. Kratom advocates told city officials the plant's natural form offers an alternative to prescription pain relievers.

In Irvine, residents raised concerns that a proposal to redevelop Oak Creek golf course into a nature park and housing could conflict with a voter-approved open space initiative from the 1980s.

The convergence of the landfill dispute, municipal budget shortfalls and land-use conflicts reflects a county government under pressure on multiple fronts heading into the summer legislative calendar.