Gregory Canyon Landfill subject of Fallbrook meeting Wednesday

FALLBROOK — Hundreds of people aligned against the prospect of the Gregory Canyon Landfill ever being built along the banks of the San Luis Rey River just south of state Route 76 near Pala are expected to pack a room in Fallbrook Wednesday night.

Consider it déjà vu all over again and again and again. There have been five U.S. presidents since Gregory Canyon was first mentioned as a possible location for a landfill and for nearly 20 years a private developer has spent tens of millions of dollars in hopes of one day making it happen.

But permits are still wanting as a consortium of opponents have battled every step of the way.

The landfill is planned for 320 acres on a 1,770-acre parcel just south of

state Route 76, about 3½ miles east of Interstate 15.

Wednesday night’s meeting is for information gathering only and is being hosted by the county’s Department of Environmental Health which is designated as the Solid Waste Law Enforcement Agency in charge of issuing a Solid Waste Permit _ one of many local and federal permits still needed.

The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of the new Fallbrook Library, 124 S. Mission Road in Fallbrook.

Opponents include many who fear that the landfill will leak toxins into the ground and the river which acts a drinking water source for several communities downstream.

The developers insist the landfill will be built with state-of-the-art technology and will not pose a threat.

Opponents say there is no such thing as a safe landfill and a worse location for a trash dump couldn’t be found. The project is also opposed by the Pala Band of Mission Indians whose reservation is adjacent to the canyon. They consider the area sacred and have spent millions of their gaming revenues fighting the dump.

J. Harry Jones: (760) 752-6780; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com