Landfill that closed 47 years ago continues to leak trash into Pacific Ocean

"For more than 20 years, Mussel Rock, a steep stretch of oceanfront land in northern San Mateo County with breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and the Farallon Islands, was a garbage dump. Two communities, Pacifica and Daly City, threw away thousands of tons of trash there starting in 1957, when Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, I Love Lucy and Elvis ruled TV and radio, and environmental laws were few and far between. The landfill closed in 1978."

"The garbage, 100 feet deep in some places, was covered with dirt roughly 4 feet thick. A barrier of boulders was built along part of the beach to slow erosion. The property became a public park where today people hike and fish. The history is fading. But the garbage remains. Years of crashing waves, landslides and shifting geology have caused some of the long-entombed trash from old toys and plastic credit cards that expired decades ago,"

"The California Coastal Commission has issued five emergency permits in the last decade to officials at Daly City, which owns the site, allowing them to pile up rocks and take other modest steps to hold back the ocean. But as sea level rises and the forces of nature take a relentless toll, the commission is growing impatient. This is one of the bigger concerns of ours from San Mateo County to the Sonoma Coast, said Stephanie Rexing, the commission's North Central District manager."

Mussel Rock in northern San Mateo County served as a landfill from 1957 to 1978, receiving thousands of tons of trash with deposits reaching about 100 feet. The waste was covered with roughly four feet of dirt and partly protected by a boulder barrier, and the site later became a public park. Years of waves, landslides and shifting geology have exposed buried refuse, sending toys, expired plastic cards and old newspapers onto beaches. The California Coastal Commission has issued multiple emergency permits and ordered Daly City to produce a comprehensive plan because the unprotected landfill threatens marine resources and risks catastrophic failure during major storms or landslides.

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