What is the Gregory Canyon dump project? This is a proposal to build and operate a risky and dangerous privately-owned landfill on 1,683 acres of canyon, mesa, and San Luis Rey River riparian habitat that is home to thirty-eight plant and animal species that are under federal or state protection. The project over lies the Pala Basin that holds 116,000 acre feet of pure, clean drinking water, and the site also contains archeological resources. This project would financially impact a minority population whose resources are limited.
Where is Gregory Canyon? The proposed site is located in northern San Diego County on Highway 76 (SR-76), approximately three miles east of Interstate 15. The Canyon is part of the San Luis Rey River Watershed that provides the sole-source water supply to five Indian tribes and many farms and ranches. Downstream, the City of Oceanside runs a water desalination plant that supplies drinking water to the city. The dump site, which is adjacent to the reservation of the Pala Band of Mission Indians, includes Gregory Mountain, which Luiseño tribes regard as sacred. The garbage would be dumped a few hundred yards from another significant religious site known in archeological records as Medicine Rock. The sacred mountain would be covered by garbage nearly to the top, with the garbage easily visible from Highway 76.
Landfill Description: The Gregory Canyon dump is planned for a capacity of more than thirty million tons of commercial and residential trash. The project would generate destructive impacts for the thirty-year life of the dump. Over three hundred acres of the property will be used for landfill activities. Other major project impacts include: modification of State Route 76, construction of a bridge, the relocation of San Diego Gas & Electric's high voltage transmission lines, and the relocation of the San Diego County Water Authority's First Aqueduct which consists of two pipelines, each big enough to drive a pickup truck through. These two lines supply nearly half of all the water used in San Diego County.
Cultural resources that can not be mitigated. The dump property contains twenty-two historic and prehistoric sites, one of which boasts an invaluable set of pictographs. These treasures are an irreplaceable part of our local history.
Danger to the environment and to humans. Siting a landfill on the river is a guarantee of contamination. In addition to the local water supply there is a danger to the San Diego County Aqueduct and to all the water users downstream. The project is perceived as a classic case of environmental racism against the Pala Band of Indians.
Landfill Impacts to the Biological Resources. Potential direct impact to biological resources include increased sedimentation, toxins, traffic hazards, increased dust, noise, nuisance animal species, and significant impacts to wildlife movement due to habitat fragmentation. There will be enormous destruction of natural resources.
Traffic. This landfill project will generate a dangerous amount of heavy traffic on a daily basis. It is projected that 1,350 eight-ton trucks per day, one every two minutes, will be traveling back and forth on narrow, winding Highway 76. Impacts created by traffic will include noise, air pollution, and safety hazards that are gravely detrimental to humans, plants and animals.
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