Date: August 31, 2011
Source: News Room
The developers of a landfill north of San Diego, CA received a major setback as lawmakers in Sacramento passed legislation to block the project. In doing so, the lawmakers overruled the county Board of Supervisors, the courts and two public votes in favor of the Gregory Canyon landfill along state Route 76 and near the Pala Indian Reservation. Lawmakers behind the bill argue that it was necessary to preserve a Native American cultural site and to protect the San Luis Rey River from possible contamination. Never mind that the proposed site is less than two miles from the tribal-owned Pala Casino, which evidently does not threaten Indian cultural heritage. In an interview, Gregory Canyon Ltd. spokeswoman Nancy Chase said the company will urge California governor Jerry Brown to veto the legislation. "The ultimate message is the voters have spoken and the Legislature should not interfere with local control," she said.
Senate Bill 833, carried by Sen. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, would ban any landfill in San Diego County that is within 1,000 feet of the San Luis Rey River or that close to sites deemed sacred by American Indians.
In what seems all too familiar in California politics, Gregory Canyon has a long and divisive history spread across the past two decades. In 1994 and again in 2004, county residents backed the developers in two separate ballots to determine the future of the landfill. The developers also have been securing permits, but need several more from various agencies. It would span 308 acres inside a 1,770-acre parcel of land to be left as open space.
San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts was critical of the vote which he deemed micromanagement from Sacramento. "Most of them wouldn't have a clue where this is or the issues," he said in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune. "This is badly needed in North County, It was needed years ago and it will become painfully clear down the road," he said. Roberts, in a jab at environmentalists, noted that North County will have to ship its trash great distances, adding to air pollution and traffic.
To learn more about the proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill, visit: www.gregorycanyon.com.
PRESS RELEASE
August 31, 2011
Senator Vargas' Gregory Canyon Protection Bill Clears Final Hurdle in Legislature, Now Awaiting Governor's Signature
Bipartisan Assemblymembers vote 70-1 to Preserve Sacred Sites, Protect Environment
Senator Juan Vargas' Gregory Canyon Protection Bill, SB 833, received strong bipartisan approval on the Floor of the California State Assembly with a 70-1 vote. Vargas is authoring SB 833 to protect Gregory Canyon, an important regional drinking water supply, the region's habitat and native species, and to preserve the sacred and spiritual sites of the Luiseño people. Today's vote was the final step needed for approval in the State Legislature, and is now heading to the Governor for his approval.
"Seldom do Republicans and Democrats agree, almost completely, on an important issue in Sacramento, as they have today in trying to stop a dump from being built on a river and Native American sacred site," stated Senator Juan Vargas (D-San Diego). "Everyone came together to send a clear, loud message that both the San Luis Rey River, an important drinking water source, and an important sacred site must be protected from contamination and desecration."
Gregory Canyon is a pristine, undeveloped canyon at the headwaters of the San Luis Rey River that is proposed to become a landfill. The construction of the landfill would impact two blue lined streams and would cause a loss of a tributary to the San Luis Rey River placing the river at risk of landslides, leachate spills from trucks and contaminated runoff.
SB 833 would prohibit the construction or operation of a solid waste landfill disposal facility in the County of San Diego if that facility is either located on or within 1,000 feet of the San Luis Rey River or an aquifer that is hydrologically connected to that river; the disposal facility is on or within 1,000 feet of a site that is considered to be sacred or is of spiritual or cultural importance to a federally recognized Indian Tribe that is listed in the California Native American Heritage Commission Sacred Lands Inventory. The Gregory Canyon landfill site is located in northern San Diego County on State Route 76, approximately three miles east of Interstate 15, and two miles southwest of the community occupied by the Pala Band of Mission Indians.
Vargas represents the 40th California State Senate District which includes the southern portion of San Diego County, portions of Riverside County, all of Imperial County and California's entire US/Mexico border. Vargas represented the 79th California State Assembly District from 2000 – 2006 and served on the San Diego City Council from 1993 – 2000.
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