By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-09-27 22:46:33 | Updated at 2026-09-27 23:31:33
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A bitter battle is brewing in a small California oil boomtown where residents are accusing the operator of a massive landfill of unleashing toxic gases and foul odors, according to a new lawsuit.
About 43 residents and workers filed the federal lawsuit Friday against Waste Connections US Inc. and Madera Disposal Systems Inc., alleging the Avenal Regional Landfill has created a dangerous nuisance that has harmed their health, homes and quality of life.
The 173-acre landfill sits in the northern part of Avenal, surrounded by neighborhoods, schools, parks and businesses.
The suit claims the facility is just 500ft from the nearest home, while the entire community of roughly 14,000 people lives within 1.5 miles of the site.
“The noxious odors and toxic gases made living conditions around the landfill unbearable,” the plaintiffs allege in a 23-page lawsuit.
Residents claim they have been subjected to persistent odors and gases emanating from landfill gas and leachate, resulting in headaches, nosebleeds, breathing problems, dizziness, difficulty concentrating and heart problems.
The lawsuit says some residents have been forced to stay inside their homes, give up using their yards and keep doors and windows shut even when weather conditions would normally call for fresh air.
Residents say they worried that even short trips outside — including mowing the lawn — could expose them and their families to “toxic chemicals with unknown short- and long-term health effects,” according to the complaint.
Some allegedly became so concerned about possible exposure that they worried about letting their children play outside or go to school, according to the lawsuit.
Others say the odors have made them embarrassed to invite guests over and hurt the value of their properties.
The allegations come as Avenal is already engulfed in a separate political fight that has upended City Hall.
Four of the city’s five council members — Mayor Alvaro Preciado and council members Leticia Gamez, Pablo Hernandez and David Reynosa — were recalled by voters in April after a campaign that included concerns over the city’s fire department and transparency.
The officials later challenged the recall and continued serving until a Kings County Superior Court judge ruled in August that they had unlawfully remained in office after the recall was certified.
The landfill itself has a long history intertwined with Avenal.
The area became an oil “boomtown” after a massive drilling expedition in 1928-29, with Standard Oil building a community that reached roughly 3,000 people, most of them oil workers.
Today, the city is known as the “Pistachio Capital of the World,” with many residents working in agriculture or at Avenal State Prison.
The landfill dates back even further, with the site used for waste disposal by Standard Oil in 1929. Avenal eventually took over the operation before handing day-to-day management to Madera Disposal in 2002. Waste Connections later took over the operation.
The lawsuit points to a long trail of regulatory complaints.
According to the complaint, the Kings County Local Enforcement Agency investigated odor complaints on dozens of occasions between 2020 and August 2026.
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District also investigated hundreds of complaints over several years, many involving odors, dust or open burning.
In one 2020 investigation, the agency looked into odors that residents said were causing health problems, the lawsuit says.
California air regulators allegedly detected landfill-related odors during multiple surveillance operations, while the lawsuit says federal and state agencies have also investigated elevated temperatures and gas emissions at the site.
CalRecycle reportedly found landfill-gas readings exceeding 145 degrees Fahrenheit since 2024, with some measurements topping 160 degrees. The complaint says carbon monoxide readings in several wells reached as high as 3,420 parts per million.
The complaint says temperatures above 145 degrees can indicate a subsurface fire, while CalRecycle has said carbon monoxide concentrations above 1,500 parts per million “strongly suggest” a subsurface fire.
The plaintiffs accuse Waste Connections and Madera Disposal of negligence, private nuisance and negligence per se.
They are seeking damages for alleged injuries and property losses, as well as medical monitoring and an injunction that could ultimately require remediation, additional monitoring or even permanent closure of the landfill.
“Defendants’ actions were, and continue to be, intentional, willful, malicious, oppressive, and made with a conscious disregard for the rights or safety of Plaintiffs,” the complaint alleges.
