It Turns Out Building a Landfill on Sacred Native Lands Next to a River Isn’t Easy
Posted January 11, 2010 in Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
I’ve blogged about the significance of the San Luis Rey River before -- it is the ecological backbone of one of the main watersheds in northern San Diego County. It turns out we weren’t the only ones concerned about the possible damage a mega-landfill could inflict on this critical drinking water source. Recently, NRDC learned that the EPA is calling for a full and comprehensive environmental review for the proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill, which is exactly what needs to take place before any progress is made to further the proposed garbage dump plan.
The proposed 300-acre landfill would be built on the banks of the San Luis Rey River and would desecrate lands considered sacred to the Luiseño people, who have lived and worshipped on the lands for hundreds of years. The project’s proponents pushed for a truncated review process that would forgo a careful examination of the dump’s environmental impacts, as well as depriving the public of its right to participate in the review process.
However, in a December 28, 2009 letter to the Army Corps of Engineers, EPA called for a full review of the project. This would include both an individual permit under Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act because the project would affect ”waters of the United States,” and an environmental impact statement (EIS) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) because the proposal poses significant changes to the existing environment that need to be considered under federal law.
This is a hugely important determination by the federal agency charged with protecting our natural resources and ensuring that our environmental laws are obeyed.
And it comes on the heels of a November 2009 decision by the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board -- a state agency with the power to veto the project entirely -- to delay approval of a bridge over the San Luis Rey River that would connect the proposed landfill to a nearby highway. The Board determined that it needed to examine the entirety of the proposed landfill, and not just the bridge to nowhere, as proponents would have liked.
This is a controversial project requiring strict environmental review. Landfills are permanent reminders of waste in our society and they must be approached in a smart and legally-recognized process. This project would have such enormous environmental and cultural impacts that it calls for nothing less.
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Comments
Dr. James Singmaster — Jan 12 2010 02:29 AM
I don't know from this posting who is proposing this ridiculous landfill, but some one in the government ought to be asking for alternatives if any kind of organic wastes are involved. The massive never ending messes of organic wastes and sewage solids can not be dumped or used for soil amendments as that will allow their natural biodegrading to reemit GHGs. What should be done is pyrolysis of the messes to get inert charcoal and an expelled mix of organic chemicals and other volatiles to be refined much light a light crude oil mix.
Several companies are already getting pilot plants going for such pyrolysis, and I would urge the NRDC to get attention to make those wastes into a resource. Pyrolysis will destroy all the germs, drugs and most toxics in the messes greatly reducing the costs of dumps not having those hazards in them needing monitoring or causing escape problems. Some toxics may need to be cleaned out of the trapped expelled mix that can be refined to get a renewable fuel, especially if renewable energy can be used to fire the pyrolysis. Somebody should get this pyrolysis process to the attention of whoever in official positions are trying to force this landfill. Dr. J. sIngmaster