Campo Kumeyaay Nation News - February 26, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 26, 2010

Media Contacts:
Bob Royer, 206-999-3586
Nancy Murphy, 202-222-8908

Statement of Campo Kumeyaay Nation Chairman Monique LaChappa

Release of the Campo Landfill
Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement

On Friday, February 26th the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency released the draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Campo Landfill.

The original Campo Landfill was conceived nearly 20 years ago and raised some concern among community members. The current project is significantly different —the science is different, our groundwater protection processes are better, our monitoring and environmental management practices have become even stronger and we have new landfill technology that we did not have then.

We cannot wait another 20 years for this landfill. Our communities continue to produce municipal solid waste and we are quickly running out of disposal options. Unemployment is high in east county and tax revenues are down. We need environmental assets like this landfill to create jobs and drive economic activity throughout the region.

Currently, the Campo Kumeyaay Nation is the largest employer in the east county region of San Diego County, and the landfill project will produce additional jobs, taxes and economic value. Nearly 500 people depend on the investments we make in our gaming, building supply, wind energy and environmental monitoring activities. This project will increase employment and economic activity in our region for the long term.

The landfill project is part of a broader effort to ensure that Campo people, and the east county region, thrive in the coming decade. In my 2010 State of the Campo Kumeyaay Nation address, I outlined a vision for Campo people in 2020 – one in which Campo people are prosperous, healthy and safe. Our traditions and culture are thriving and our land is flourishing. People have meaningful, fulfilling employment and economic opportunity. We are governed in true partnership with all Campo people and in a way that inspires trust and confidence. Our spirit is strong. My vision is a Campo in which all children have access to higher education and a chance for high-skill, high-wage jobs. All families feel safe and secure in their own homes and throughout the reservation, and view the reservation as a place they want to call home.

This project also fits into an overall environmental management strategy that builds on our experience with renewable energy. Our wind power projects have created over 175 million megawatt hours of electricity in 2009 and reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 30,000 tons every year. Ultimately, our landfill will become, like Miramar and other landfills across the region, a producer of renewable fuel, electricity, liquids or gas.

We look forward to engaging in a conversation about the Campo Landfill. We hope to demonstrate that this waste management strategy will bring economic and environmental value not just to the Campo Reservation, but to the entire region.” The Campo Kumeyaay Nation (CKN) is one of twelve Kumeyaay Bands in the County of San Diego, California. They operate are a gaming tribe and owners of the Golden Acorn Casino & Travel Center. CKN was one of the first tribal nations to join The Climate Registry as well as to measure and collect data on greenhouse gas emissions in the region. In partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric, a subsidiary of Sempra, and Invenergy, CKN will jointly develop and operate the first phase - 160 MW - of an eventual 300MW wind energy expansion project.

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