Opponents Trash County’s Landfill Plans

Opponents of three proposed trash landfills in North County on Wednesday continued to vilify an environmental impact report that says the undeniable consequences of burying trash at any of the three sites are outweighed by the public necessity to dump the garbage.

More than 40 speakers addressed the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, invoking issues ranging from Indian spirituality to the space shuttle to Agent Orange in their opposition to the landfill sites.

By day’s end, the board agreed to discuss--and possibly decide--the controversial issue Dec. 4.

In the meantime, the board accepted Supervisor Susan Golding’s request to have Dist. Atty. Edwin L. Miller’s office conduct a background investigation of Waste Management of California, the nation’s largest trash company. The firm owns one of the three proposed landfill sites--Gregory Canyon, alongside California 76 and the San Luis Rey River in Pala--and ultimately hopes for county approval to operate the landfill privately.

She said that because of the expectation that the county and Waste Management might eventually discuss the issue of privately run landfills, she wanted to get a head start on checking the company’s background “so I know it’s got a clean bill of health.”

Sparking her concern, she said, were rumors that trash companies may have involvement in organized crime.

Rick Daniels, manager of special projects for Waste Management in San Diego, said the firm welcomes the investigation and is willing to pay for it. Such investigations, he said, are typical before counties and municipalities contract with trash companies.

Golding said Miller has already agreed to conduct the investigation, but was unsure how long it would take.

Board members, with Chairman Leon Williams absent, offered little reaction to Wednesday’s testimony. But Brian Bilbray said he wanted the staff to offer additional information on a landfill site alongside Interstate 15, not far from the Champagne Village mobile home park near the Lawrence Welk Resort. And John MacDonald asked the staff to give more information on Eagle Mountain, a former iron ore strip mine near the border of Riverside and San Bernardino counties that is now under consideration as a regional landfill for Southern California.

Many of Wednesday’s speakers suggested that the board drop consideration of all three sites because of a host of actual and alleged flaws and drawbacks, and start the search process over.

“If you’re walking down a road and you see it’s a dead end, you turn around and look for another route,” said Robin Hewitt of Julian. Added Davis Roach of Fallbrook, who criticized the environmental impact report for failing to consider the consequences of trash transfer stations throughout North County before garbage is ultimately shipped to a landfill: “As far as I know, there’s no government body that says, ‘Gee, this is a good EIR.’ So why don’t you admit the county (staff) flubbed up, and go back and do it again?”

Several Indians, and supporters on their behalf, ridiculed the consideration of the Gregory Canyon site because it is considered sacred by local Indians. Martha Lessman Katz, an attorney for the Anti-Defamation League, said she doubted the value of her testimony on behalf of the Indians. “I fear it won’t matter because, after all, they’re just Indians,” she said sardonically.

One speaker said he suffered from Agent Orange after serving in Vietnam and worried about what toxics landfills might introduce to the ground water, and another warned that relying on a polyethylene liner to keep garbage toxics from leaching into the ground water was not unlike NASA relying on questionable O-rings until the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded.

Ruth Harber from the Pala area held a piece of that liner in her hand and tried to light it with a cigarette lighter to show its flammability--but was shaking so hard, from nervousness she said, that it wouldn’t ignite. “If you’re nervous,” advised Golding, “don’t play with matches.”

One speaker, former Roger Hedgecock political aide Michael McDade, said he was representing Champagne Village, the Golden Door spa and others in recommending that the board adopt the landfill sites versus looking elsewhere--such as the one nearer his clients’ location.

“One should not look elsewhere for a panacea. There are no other sites that will give you fewer problems,” he said.