Proposed Dump’s Effect on Water Source Prompts Packard Letter to EPA

In a letter co-signed by three state legislators, U.S. Rep. Ronald Packard (R-Carlsbad) is asking the federal Environmental Protection Agency to study what damage a proposed county landfill in Fallbrook might do to the area’s ground water.

Packard said he is concerned that contaminants from the landfill might seep into the adjacent Rainbow Creek and flow into the Santa Margarita River, which provides 70% of the drinking water for neighboring Camp Pendleton.

The Marine Corps base relies exclusively on underground water for drinking and agricultural uses.

Packard said that, based on discussion with Camp Pendleton’s water hydrologists and a review of the county’s draft environmental impact report, “we have concerns that the (EIR) report may not properly address ground-water protection measures.”

“It is clear that failure of any or all ground-water protection measures proposed (in the county’s EIR) would result in grave consequences for Camp Pendleton and San Diego County,” Packard wrote.

The letter is expected to be sent to the EPA on Thursday, said John Weil, Packard’s administrative assistant.

The letter is co-signed by state Assemblyman Bob Frazee (R-Carlsbad) and Sen. Marion Bergeson (R-Newport Beach), whose districts include Camp Pendleton and Fallbrook, as well as state Sen. Bill Craven (R-Carlsbad), whose district neighbors Pendleton to the south.

The Fallbrook landfill site is one of three being considered by county officials to take much of North County’s trash into the next century. The other two candidate sites are Gregory Canyon, alongside the San Luis Rey River and California 76, just east of Interstate 15, and Blue Canyon, along California 79 near Warner Springs.

Opponents also have criticized the selection of the other two sites for a variety of reasons, including possible ground-water contamination and increased traffic.

Already, the San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District, which provide wholesale water to the county’s water districts, have opposed the Fallbrook dump site, along Aspen Road just west of I-15, because it sits astride four water transmission lines that deliver 90% of the county’s water from the north.

The Marine Corps has gone on record opposing the Fallbrook site because of fears that its source of water might be tainted by garbage contaminants that could seep from the landfill and into the nearby river.

County officials have maintained that the landfill could be constructed with a bottom liner of clay and composite material in such a way that toxins could not escape the landfill and enter the ground water.

But Packard said he’s not so sure, and wants the EPA to study the issue.

“Camp Pendleton is self-contained in terms of water, and does a magnificent job of managing its water,” Packard said. “To run the risk of contaminating that very source of water would be a tragic mistake.

“I recognize the dilemma of finding landfill sites, but when it comes to ground-water resources, it would be very short-sighted to contaminate that life-saving resource.”

An EPA spokeswoman in San Francisco said the agency could not respond to Packard’s request until it received the letter.

“But we’ll take a look at it to see what the congressman is asking us to do,” said Ida Tolliver of the EPA.

Packard said he isn’t concerned that the EPA’s study might further delay the county’s efforts to select and develop a landfill in North County.

“I’m not trying to stick up impediments and stumbling blocks,” he said. “And I’m not opposing landfills. But I want to make certain we don’t destroy our water supplies. This shouldn’t be railroaded through. It’s far better to study this now than to plunge ahead and have to live with a major, major problem for decades. I’m not one for studying things to death, but when it comes to something as critical as water, we can’t be too careful.”