Letters: Gregory Canyon dump not needed

It is important for the U-T’s readership to hear both sides of the Gregory Canyon landfill debate, so I would like to correct several inaccuracies in the poorly researched editorial “Talking trash” (Feb. 24).

For years, landfills have been built to the highest standard then available; however, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has still concluded that every landfill liner eventually leaks. The Gregory Canyon dump would perch millions of tons of trash immediately adjacent to the San Luis Rey River and directly on top of an aquifer in a seismically active area. Leakage, landslides or collapse are inevitable. There is no reason to risk contamination of our drinking water when alternatives exist.

This is not about North County trash being shipped out of the county. In fact, Gregory Canyon has already sought trash from outside the county to make money for its out-of-state developers. There is no basis for reduced trash fees or the $50 million in estimated fees to the county. This landfill is completely private with no obligation to pay anything to San Diego County.

Finally, capacity at existing landfills is sufficient to take all of San Diego County’s waste for years to come, and new technologies have made new landfills unnecessary. San Diego County does not need this dump.

-- Robert Smith, Chairman, Pala Band of Mission Indians