10/22/14

GREGORY CANYON UPDATE

Hello friends - it's been a long time since I've had any news to report on the status of the Gregory Canyon dump. I was hoping that my next big news would be that the dump is done, but unfortunately that's not (YET!) the case. This article, published Friday, October 17 in the Union Tribune, claims that the dump may be "back on track." http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/oct/17/gregory-canyon-landfill-soveregin-capital/

It is true that GCL has started working with Sovereign Capital Management to restructure their debt. Our team has been keeping a close eye on these developments to see what Sovereign's intentions are. Apparently they do intend to restart the Clean Water Act application with the Army Corps of Engineers. Even though this is not good news, we must remember that there are several other areas where the landfill developers are still in trouble. For example:

·         They owe two years of late property taxes to the County;
·         They owe the Air Pollution Control District over $300,000;
·         Their corporate status has been suspended with the State;
·         They must fulfill a long list of deficiencies in their Corps application for it to restart;
·         They may have to re-do the entire Corps public review process;
·         It will take AT LEAST a full year to complete the EIR for the Corps.

These are serious problems. And, of course, GCL must still face the opposition of Pala and several other tribes, all our environmental partners such as NRDC and Riverwatch, and the citizens of Oceanside and North County who care about their water supply. WE WILL NEVER GIVE UP THE FIGHT!

I will keep you all posted on new developments as they occur. Thank you, as always, for your support.

-Shasta

Shasta C. Gaughen, PhD
Environmental Director/THPO
Pala Environmental Department/
Tribal Historic Preservation Office
PMB 50
35008 Pala Temecula Rd.
Pala, CA 92059

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