San Diego Tribe Proposes Landfill, Free of State Regulation

Date: February 27, 2010

Source: News Room

A Native American tribe in San Diego County, California hopes to build a 493-acre landfill on its reservation in the eastern county along the border with Mexico. The 320-member Campo Indian band is reviving a similar proposal dating back to the 1980s that faltered amid environmental concerns and local opposition. Under its current proposal, the tribe would lease the land to BLT Enterprises, an Oxnard-based recycling company, that develops and operates recycling facilities and transfer stations, but may be best known for developing the controversial Eagle Mountain landfill which it sold the City of Los Angeles. The proposed Campo Regional Landfill would be surrounded by a square-mile of buffer area entirely on reservation land and therefore, not subject to county regulations and state environmental laws, which are among the most stringent in the country. As such it will likely draw criticism for appearances of seeking a completive cost advantage even though the landfill will still be subject tofederal and tribal laws. A draft report released this week indicates that the 3,000 ton per day landfill would accept about 138 truckloads of waste from San Diego County and elsewhere, and use 37,000 gallons of water pumped from nearby wells. That would accommodate about 15 percent of the county's needs.

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