By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun
     A new lease signed in December 2004, between the Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians and BLT, Inc. has re-opened the door to construction of a 600-acre landfill/composting/materials recovery Project in Boulevard.
     Opposition to the Campo landfill has been successful in halting the process so far, due in great part to the group Backcountry Against Dumps (BAD), led by Campo resident Donna Tisdale. Tisdale is a co-founder of BAD, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the issue and working to stop the placement of a landfill in Campo.
     “The Campo Landfill project, which was originally approved and permitted in the early 1990s, will undergo a supplementary environmental impact statement process to bring it up to date.” said Peter James MacCracken of Strategic Communications.
     “That process has just begun, with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Interior as the lead agency. The Campo Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) and the U.S. EPA will be cooperating agencies.” McCracken explained. “Because the process has just begun, it is too soon to know when the process will be completed so that construction of the landfill can begin.”
      The major concern for residents and those opposed to the landfill is that of groundwater.  Most notable is the fact that this landfill will be located above the Campo/Cottonwood Creek Sole Source Aquifer, Tisdale said. This is where Campo area well water comes from. The Boulevard/Campo area has no access to imported water now and none is expected in the future.
     A dual liner system is proposed for the site, with a leachate collection and removal system. An underlying leak detection system is also proposed. Leachate is the bi-product, toxic soup of decomposing garbage at a landfill site. It is a contaminated liquid that can seep into the groundwater and pose a threat to domestic wells.
     The United States Environmental Protection Agency has said that all liners eventually leak due to damage, failed seams, and deterioration.
     “When this one fails it will leak into our highly fractured bedrock aquifer,” Tisdale said. “Contaminants will then travel through water-bearing fractures to domestic wells at unknown rates and in unknown directions.”
     Both the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have expressed similar concerns with this landfill site, she added.

The landfill site
     The landfill lease area is located at the southern end of the Campo Reservation, approximately 60 miles from San Diego. The entire lease area encompasses 1,150 acres, the landfill footprint, the proposed composting area and material recovery facility require 600 acres.
     This site could see 3,000 tons of trash per day; 1,095,000 tons of disposal per year; up to its total capacity of 29.5 million tons. The estimated site life is 31.5 years of trash disposal.
     “Once closed, the landfill will continue to stew and spew noxious gases and toxic liquids into our air and water for many decades into the future,” reads the Back Country Against Dumps Web site.
     The site will be a Class III (municipal solid waste) landfill but it will be designed to Class I (hazardous waste) standards.
     The tribe has stated that, “hazardous waste is prohibited by tribal and federal regulations. In addition, the lease agreement and the cooperative agreement with the State of California do not allow hazardous waste disposal.”

What now?
      Tisdale said BAD and other groups will lobby against the landfill when the issue comes before the Bureau if Indian Affairs or the Secretary of the Interior, who has jurisdiction in this case. However the lease has not yet shown up at either office.
     “We’re waiting to see where the lease shows up,” Tisdale said. “The lease was signed in December and I can’t seem to get an answer as to why is hasn’t appeared yet.”
     When it does, BAD will be there to argue against the site. The sole source aquifer and groundwater issues are some of the major arguments. A new certified Environmental Impact Statement will have to be conducted as the old one, completed in 1994, is outdated.
     “At this point, we believe that decision will be made at the regional office of the BIA,” reads the BAD Web site. “We are trying to block that approval.”
     Another argument is whether or not there is even a need for a new landfill site in San Diego County.
     “We know that trash will not come from San Diego,” Tisdale said. “There’s really no need for this.”
     The city has its own landfill at Miramar and the county just approved the draft of its updated Integrated Waste Management Summary and Siting Element. The Campo Landfill was purposely excluded from those plans because there is no need for it. The county can meet its 15 year disposal capacity that is required by the state, without the Campo landfill.
     Recent talks about a new landfill in San Diego County emitted rumors of trash of Los Angeles being transported here, however both the City and the County of Los Angeles say they have no plans or agreements with BLT to dispose their waste at Campo.
     “This leads to the big question,” reads the BAD Web site. “Where is the need for this landfill and who will commit to send their trash here?”
     This question currently remains unanswered. The trash contracts that BLT will need to make this project economically feasible have not been disclosed.

History of the landfill
      In 1978 the Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians developed a plan which designated the proposed landfill site for industrial development. Initially, several types of landfills were considered up to, and including, hazardous waste facilities. These were rejected in the preliminary review process as a protective measure to minimize the potential risks of groundwater contamination.
     In 1989 the Campos began the scoping process with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs as the lead agency.“
     The Band involved the public at the earliest stage of the process,” reads the tribe’s Web site.
     The Campos advertised across the country and selected Mid American Waste Systems to develop and operate the facility. In 1990, the Band created the Campo Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) to ensure the landfill would be constructed and operated to the standards adopted by the tribe.
     By 1994, Mid American Waste was declared in default, due to company debt of more than $600 million. The lease with the band was dissolved .
     In 2000, the Campos began to put out inquiries and held discussions with various companies on the prospect of partnering with the band in developing the project.
     In December 2001, the general council of the Campo band voted to reaffirm its support for the landfill project to continue. Since then, BLT, Inc. has emerged as the preferred partner for the tribal project.

Related links
The Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians
Back Country Against Dumps

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