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El Sobrante Landfill is a Class 3 regional disposal facility permitted to accept up to 10,000 tons per day, seven days per week. It employs approximately 40 full-time employees. Landfill operations are overseen by the California Integrated Waste Management Board, and the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health.
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At the end of the lifespan of the El Sobrante landfill, the Temescal Valley community will eventually enjoy over 1,300 acres of protected open space managed under the direction of the California Department of Fish and Game, free of any future development. How is this possible? Through our rolling closure plan, which means that as each phase of the landfill reaches its capacity to hold waste, we close it down and then restore the land with native vegetation, essentially recreating nature for the benefit of wildlife.
Once each portion of the landfill reaches capacity, our engineers and biologists get to work. There are two main objectives when it comes to a final closure on a landfill phase. For the engineers, it is important to minimize the infiltration of water into the buried trash by making sure that the last four feet of engineered soil placed on the closed section of the landfill is compacted according to strict guidelines. This prevents any additional formation of a liquid known as leachate, but allows enough water to penetrate the soil to hydrate the native vegetation that will be planted by our restoration biologists. The biologists’ goal is to “recreate” nature by carefully and strategically planting native plants with the purpose of restoring the native habitat for the 31 protected species identified at El Sobrante.
The final “cap” or landfill closure is an engineered soil that has been carefully designed to minimize the opportunity for oxygen and water from entering the buried trash. The engineered soil cap is so dense that it becomes hard like cement, creating a good environment in the buried trash for anaerobic decomposition. This promotes the creation of methane gas, which will then get converted into electricity at El Sobrante’s gas to energy plant. Native topsoil obtained from other parts of the landfill development is placed on top of the four feet of engineered soil to promote re-vegetation. The biologists then start hydroseeding and planting cactus to recreate a native habitat.
The rolling landfill closures are part of El Sobrante’s Habitat Conservation Plan to mitigate any impact to the sensitive habitats and species. The restoration involves planting Riversidean sage scrub and cactus patches, which provide habitat for the coastal California gnatcatcher, coastal cactus wren and other sensitive species.
For the past five years, our biologists have diligently been preparing for the rolling landfill closures by collecting seeds from different native plants on the preserve and growing cactus nurseries to later plant onto the rolling landfill closures. There is a lot of detailed planning that goes into assuring that the plants will take and grow once they are planted. For example, cactus from the nursery is carefully harvested a week prior to planting it so that it has time to heal and can seal off any wounds related to cutting. This helps prevent rotting or a possible infection.
In addition to harvesting seeds, our biologists have to be skilled in placing plants in a calculated, but random way that mimics nature. This includes placing additional materials such as stacked twigs, and rocks to encourage wildlife to use the slopes for shelter, and to create a more natural topography. The success of the project is measured by observing whether the new habitat attracts various protected bird species such as the coastal California gnatcatcher and cactus wren.
After the re-vegetation is completed, El Sobrante biologists will continue to monitor the vegetative cover by conducting weed control to minimize growth of any non-native plants that compete with the native species, and fill in vegetation where necessary.
When the landfill activities are completed and the land is restored with native vegetation, Waste Management will continue to manage the habitat. And residents of Temescal Valley will inherit a beautiful open space preserve where protected species thrive, ensuring that this area will become an important ecological gem for Riverside County.
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