“It sure seems like the public should know the discussions between Foley and the CEO and OC Waste department head,” said OCGOP Chairman Will O’Neill. “If it takes outside investigators, then bring them in.”
Trash is proving to be a thorn in Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley’s side.
Last month, Foley made headlines after voting in favor of rate hikes for trash services—a move that could cause disposal fees to double by 2030. Mere weeks later, she finds herself in hot water again over the latest controversy surrounding the Prima Deshecha landfill. Namely, that officials moved forward with a plan to double the daily load of trash dumped at the San Juan Capistrano site from a limit of 4,000 tons to 8,000 tons.
News of this plan resulted in hundreds of complaints to Foley from concerned community members. Many of these complaints center around noisy explosions and massive clouds of dust.
“Dust from the winds is blowing into my neighborhood,” one resident reported, per the Voice of OC’s reporting. “The current grading is creating loose dust/dirt and it’s not being properly [mitigated].”
“Both myself and my son sneeze frequently throughout the day and have chronic coughs and heavy congestion in our sinuses at night making it difficult to sleep,” stated another. “We are deeply concerned as to what will be the long term consequences of this.”
In response, Foley met with the County CEO and directed county staff to shut down a public meeting regarding the increase to daily trash intake. She went on to claim that her office “was not informed that this was being done by (OC) Waste and Recycling,” and that she “learned about this from all the residents starting to email [her.]”
That explanation has only fueled more questions.
Many are left to wonder and speculate about Foley’s ultimate role in these landfill plans. After all, she was the only Supervisor quoted in the original OC Register article from 2023 announcing the $88 million project. “This investment will serve many future generations,” she said at the time. Secondly, Foley alone “directed OC Waste and Recycling to cancel the upcoming public meeting and pause any plans for expansion,” a decision which critics say falls outside of her jurisdiction as Supervisor.
“Foley has no ability to unilaterally direct Orange County staff to do anything, which her colleagues and Orange County’s CEO explained to her,” reads a statement by the Orange County Republican Party (OCGOP). “Why lie to her constituents about not knowing about a project that she bragged about?”
In this same statement, they stated their belief that “Foley needs to be investigated for her lies and misdirection.”
OCGOP Chair Will O’Neill also spoke to the Voice of OC and said via text that it “sure seems like the public should know the discussions between Foley and the CEO and OC Waste department head.”
“If it takes outside investigators, then bring them in,” said O’Neill.
The Libertarian Party of Orange County went one step further and stated that they “support [the] removal of Katrina Foley” in a statement posted to Twitter/X.
Foley has rejected any insinuation of wrongdoing and maintains that her actions fall squarely within her responsibilities as a county supervisor. Her meeting with the CEO, she said, is “absolutely a component of [her] job.”
“I’m doing my job. That’s my job. It’s the same job Don Wagner does when there’s a fire in his district. It’s the same job that Janet does when there is some kind of controversy in her district,” Foley said.
Meanwhile, legitimate community voices on both sides of the aisle are speaking out more loudly than ever. A public petition to oppose the trash tonnage at Prima Deshecha has gone live. It encourages residents to not only sign onto the petition but to email Supervisor Foley and submit public comments.
“I hope you’ll stand with families like mine, put community health first, oppose this expansion, and pursue other, safer alternatives,” said one resident, Sonya, who is the mother of a 15-year-old cancer fighter.
Due to the sheer volume of participants and community engagement—both in and outside of the position—the window for collecting public comment was extended to March 16.
