Gregory Canyon, LLC

Proposition B - Rejected

The rejection of Prop B is a reflection of the electorate’s clear desire to build the Gregory Canyon Landfill and Recycling Center as originally planned. The results conform to 1994’s Proposition C

results, and the need for the landfill has only increased since then. Second, our data indicate that the results are not the product of some kind of “Election-Day confusion.” The election outcome is entirely consistent with our polling completed in the weeks leading up to the election, where the projected outcome, allocating undecided voters in proportion to the final results, showed 67% voting No on Prop B, and 33% voting Yes.

Further analysis of our polling data prove that opposition to Prop B was not restricted to some small segment of the San Diego County electorate. Projected results from the survey research suggest that significant majorities of both men and women, voters of all ages, voters of all political parties, voters in each political jurisdiction within the county (including each Congressional district, State Senate district, and State Assembly district, except for Assembly District 66, where the proposed landfill is located), as well as voters in each region of the county and all major cities, intended to vote No on Prop B in the November 2nd election, and that is precisely what occurred. All of the polling data discussed here, as well as actual voting behavior in the election itself, clearly suggest that voters rejected Prop B and it’s attempt to repeal the voter-approved landfill for North County, and conversely, that voters continue to see a need for the landfill project that voters overwhelming approved ten years ago...click here to read more on the Prop B Polling and Election Results.

Links for More Information:

The Gregory Canyon Landfill Environmental Impact Report

Municipal Solid Waste Basic Facts

SOLID WASTE LOCAL ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (LEA)Proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill

San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board

GREGORY CANYON…DISPELLING THE MYTHS

Myth: The Gregory Canyon landfill lies on top of an important source of drinking water

Fact: The boundary of the Pala Basin Aquifer lies north of the footprint of the Gregory Canyon landfill, and is not threatened by the proposed landfill.

Details: The liner system has been designed with significant redundancies to protect groundwater from being polluted by the landfill. We not only have this redundant liner system, but we have included monitoring points within the liner system to detect a release before it leaves the landfill and a line of wells at the down gradient edge of the landfill along the path that a contaminant might take if it were to exit the landfill. If a contaminant were detected at any point, we would be able to act quickly either with the on?site treatment system or other measures to deal with the release before it migrated any distance from the landfill. The Gregory Canyon Landfill poses no threat to area drinking water sources.

Myth: In placing the Gregory Canyon landfill on the 1994 ballot, landfill developers did an end run around the normal permitting process

Fact: The landfill has to go through the same environmental review and approval process that any other landfill is subject to (see attached schedule of permits). The 10 years of extensive environmental review that the proposed Gregory Canyon landfill has been subjected to have produced the safest, most environmentally protective landfill ever built in California. The final EIR for the project was certified by the County Department of Environmental Health in February 2003, and the site will still have to receive the approval of the Regional Water Quality Control board before it can be constructed. The average time it takes a landfill to receive necessary permits and be built averages about 10-12 years, and this site is on track to be finalized within that timeframe.

Myth: San Diego has adequate waste disposal capacity to meet waste generation for the foreseeable future, and our successful recycling program has eliminated the need for the Gregory Canyon landfill.

Fact: County waste generation totals have continued to grow with population growth since 1994, despite our County’s successful recycling program. Without Gregory Canyon, the 15-year disposal capacity requirement mandated by the County’s Solid Waste Disposal Plan cannot be met using in-County facilities. San Diego County’s Solid Waste Plan relies on the Gregory Canyon landfill and the planned expansion of existing landfills to meet the County’s solid waste disposal needs over the next 30 years. San Diego County currently generates more than 3.3 million tons of trash each year. Over 1,500 tons of garbage is collected daily in North San Diego County alone, with no local North County landfill to meet this need since the closure of the San Marcos landfill in 1997. The Gregory Canyon landfill would be able to accommodate 1 million tons of solid waste per year for 30 years. If the Gregory Canyon site is eliminated, there is no other landfill project on the horizon to address the waste disposal needs of San Diego County.

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GREGORY CANYON FACT SHEET

Click Here to see the image of the proposed Landfill.
Click Here to download the Gregory Canyon Landfill Presentation.
Click Here to see the Proposed Floor Liner System Detail.

In 1994, Proposition C was approved by 68% of San Diego County voters. It amended the county's General Plan to allow for a landfill and recycling center in Gregory Canyon.
The 308-acre landfill would be developed on 1,770 acres just south of the San Luis Rey River, off of State Route 76 and about three miles east of Interstate 15.
Over 1,300 acres will be dedicated as open space.
The landfill will be the safest, most environmentally protected landfill in San Diego County and throughout California.
The landfill’s liner system provides for over 7.5 feet of materials designed to detect and prevent any leakage or contamination of surrounding water tables.
The landfill environmental review process has spanned 10 years and has been subjected to the scrutiny of the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health.
In order to begin construction, the landfill MUST be approved by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The County’s Solid Waste Plan relies on the Gregory Canyon landfill to meet the County’s solid waste disposal needs over the next 30 years.
San Diego County currently generates more than 3.3 million tons of trash each year. Over 1,500 tons of garbage per day is collected in North San Diego County alone.
The Gregory landfill would be able to accommodate 1 million tons of solid waste per year for 30 years.
The Pala band of Mission Indians, funded primarily through their gambling profits, are gathering signatures for a November ballot measure to overturn Proposition C.
The Pala Casino is prepared to spend $2.5M to subvert the will of the voters.
The casino and proposed landfill would utilize the same two-lane highway to access their respective sites. The Gregory Canyon landfill has agreed to create turn lanes and widen the highway to accommodate the additional number of trips their project will generate.
The Pala Casino is unwilling to pay for needed improvements along SR 76 to accommodate additional truck traffic. Their own tenant, an aggregate quarrying company, generates the majority of the large truck traffic in existence on SR 76.
The Gregory site has been 10 years in the making. If it is defeated, there will not be another project on the horizon to address the waste disposal needs of San Diego County for at least another 10-20 years at best.
The ramifications of stopping the Gregory Canyon landfill project are numerous:
North County waste will have to be transported to one of the other three already overtaxed sites: Sycamore, Otay Mesa and Miramar.
By having to transport North County trash to the three southern sites, the additional trips generated on the traffic-clogged transit corridors will be dramatically increased (I-5, I-15 and 805).
Ten years of rigorous environmental review and the costs associated with it will be wasted.

MORE ON GREGORY CANYON

In 1994, Proposition C was approved by 68% of voters countywide. It amended the county's General Plan to designate North County’s Gregory Canyon for a landfill and recycling center. In approving this measure, county voters rejected inaccurate arguments by representatives of the Pala tribe and other landfill opponents who claimed erroneously that the landfill would pollute ground water resources and the San Luis Rey River, and that it would impact sacred Indian sites.

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors identified Gregory Canyon as a potential site for a new North County landfill in 1991. It was one of eight sites considered as a replacement for the San Marcos landfill, North County’s only landfill, which reached capacity and closed in 1997. The 308-acre Gregory Canyon landfill will be developed on 1,770 acres, adjacent to State Route 76, and about three miles east of Interstate 15. An additional 1,300 acres at the Gregory Canyon site will be dedicated as permanent open space, which will become part of the county’s Multiple Species Conservation Program.

NEED

San Diego County’s Solid Waste Plan relies on the Gregory Canyon landfill to meet the County’s solid waste disposal needs over the next 30 years. San Diego County currently generates more than 3.3 million tons of trash each year. Over 1,500 tons of garbage is collected daily in North San Diego County alone. The Gregory Canyon landfill would be able to accommodate 1 million tons of solid waste per year for 30 years. If the Gregory Canyon site is eliminated, there is no other landfill project on the horizon to address the waste disposal needs of San Diego County. The ramifications of losing the Gregory Canyon landfill project are numerous, including: North County waste will have to be transported to one of the three rapidly filling sites in the county: Sycamore, Otay or Miramar. By having to transport North County trash to the three distant landfills, thousands of additional trucks will be forced onto already congested freeways.

All landfills in San Diego County will be controlled by a single private disposal company, giving them monopoly control over disposal rates, potentially resulting in dramatic increases in disposal costs for San Diego County residents and businesses.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW

After county voters approved Proposition C in 1994, the landfill was subjected to 10 years of environmental review by the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health, which recently certified the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Gregory Canyon will be the safest, most environmentally protected landfill in California. The landfill’s liner system provides for over 7.5 feet of materials designed to prevent any leakage or contamination of surrounding water tables. The liner system is also designed to detect any leakage if it should occur, and an on-site water treatment facility will be at hand to treat any contaminated water. In order to begin construction, the landfill will also have to be approved by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.

WATER QUALITY

The Gregory Canyon landfill will provide an unprecedented level of protection to the water quality in the region. The liner system would be the only 5-layer, double composite system in any California solid waste landfill. In addition, there will be a system dedicated to the collection and containment of landfill liquids, a two-phase surface water control system, and two early detection systems. Finally, the redundant protective system will include a dedicated groundwater treatment plant, thus adding a final level of protection to preserving the quality of the water in the surrounding area.

OPPONENTS

The Pala Band of Mission Indians has opposed the Gregory Canyon landfill since it was first identified by San Diego County as a potential site in the late 1980s. Funded primarily from gambling profits derived from their casino located at the foot of Gregory Mountain, the Pala Casino has attempted through lawsuits, campaign contributions and Sacramento lobbying to block the landfill. When these efforts failed, their attorneys drafted a ballot measure and paid signature gatherers were hired in an attempt to qualify the measure for the ballot. The Pala Casino’s political consultant has said they are prepared to spend $2.5 million to secure voter approval for their initiative.

The casino and proposed landfill would utilize the same two-lane highway – State Route 76 – to access their respective sites. The landfill has agreed to pay for road improvements, including turn lanes and widening, to accommodate the additional traffic the project will generate. But the Pala Casino has thus far been unwilling to pay for needed improvements to SR 76 to accommodate casino traffic, which constitutes over 90% of the projected vehicle trips on the road. The casino’s tenant, an aggregate quarrying company, generates the majority of the existing truck traffic on SR 76.