California regulators approve rules to curb methane leaks and prevent fires at landfills

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California air regulators voted unanimously to adopt stricter rules designed to reduce methane emissions and prevent dangerous underground fires at landfills statewide.

The new requirements force landfill operators to use satellites and drones to detect leaks, install additional pollution controls and fix equipment faster.

Communities near landfills with burning garbage, including Southern California’s Chiquita Canyon, have long faced toxic pollution and health problems regulators aim to prevent.

In one of the most important state environmental decisions this year, California air regulators adopted new rules designed to reduce methane leaks and better respond to disastrous undergr