Gregory Cyn Landfill rearing its Ugly Head Again

Hello friends –
It has been quite some time since I've had any news to report on our fight against the Gregory Canyon landfill. For well over a year now, there has been virtually no visible activity by the people behind the dump. We knew they were in financial trouble, so they’ve been spending their time trying to find new investors (or should I say suckers?) to prop up their shaky project. They have managed to find those investors -- a group called Sovereign Capital Management. Sovereign has been busy helping GCL reorganize their finances and attempt to move forward with the permitting process. That’s why they were in court yesterday for a foreclosure hearing – it’s all part of the new reorganization strategy. You can read about it here:
SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

In the article, Nancy Chase says they’ll have a “big announcement” in June. Remember, this is the same woman who’s been saying “We’ll be open in 12 months” for 20 years! So I’m not worried and I don’t think you should be, either. BUT: we need to be ready. The dump people are working with the Army Corps of Engineers again, trying to restart the permitting process. They are beginning to work on their environmental documents again and have had meetings with Corps staff. Of course, we will fight this process every step of the way – at MINIMUM, they will have to do another series of public hearings, if not rewrite and resubmit several of their environmental reports. So be ready to hear from me the minute we know that there’s another opportunity for public participation.

Finally: some of you who have heard about the foreclosure proceedings have asked me if this means that somebody else can buy the property – such as a land conservancy or even Pala. Unfortunately, this foreclosure is just part of the reorganization strategy, which means that the land will probably not be available for purchase by other groups. We are watching this process VERY CLOSELY, so if any opportunity comes up for participation by other entities, we will know it!

I know a lot of you probably thought GCL’s financial troubles meant this zombie project was finally dead – but zombies are hard to kill. We still need your support, we are still fighting, and we will not give up.

Thank you, as always, for your support!

Shasta C. Gaughen, PhD

Environmental Director/Tribal Historic Preservation Officer
Pala Band of Mission Indians