EPA slams brakes on Colusa landfill

Opponents of a proposed landfill on tribal land in Colusa County are hailing a decision by the federal Environmental Protection Agency that may slow the project.

Rich Vaille, the EPA's regional associate director for waste management, said in a recent letter that additional analysis is needed under the National Environmental Policy Act for five construction waivers sought by the Santa Rosa-based North Bay Corp., the would-be developers.

Colleen Ferrini, spokeswoman for Colusa Citizens for Safe Water, a local landfill opposition group, called the decision an "encouraging victory" for the environment.

"The EPA is going to take a hard look at the project plans and the public will have another opportunity for input on the permitting process," Ferrini said Saturday.

Federal regulations for landfills on Native American land call for the EPA's regional office to tentatively approve or reject waivers about 90 days after receiving the requests. Afterward, the agency is to hold a public forum on the issue before making its decision final.

Supervisor Mark Marshall called the additional NEPA review a victory for landfill opponents.

"Depending on the depth of the review, further study could extend the project's timeline by more than a year," Marshall said. "I'm sure that's not something North Bay wants to hear," he added.

Marshall said the county requested in October to have the federal EPA review the construction waiver requests, which included a waiver on earthquake standards, requests to use alternative liners and covers and a water monitoring variance.

Vaille said developers are seeking to use construction materials that are "as protective, but different" than normal practices. He called the requests "fairly routine."

Supervisor Kim Vann said she hopes the EPA will clarify what the additional review will mean for the project.

"Does it mean the project will need a supplemental environmental impact study, or will the EPA ask for some other specific documents?" Vann said.

However, Vaille said that the depth of review remains undetermined.

"The scope is completely unknown," Vaille said late Friday. "We don't know what we're going to do exactly."

Vaille said EPA's first step would be to conduct an "initial assessment."

"That will tell us what additional steps under NEPA we need to take," he said.

Vaille said the assessment could take up to six months, once all requested information has been gathered — which it has not, he quickly added.

The proposed landfill site would occupy 443 acres of reservation land belonging to the Cortina Band of Wintun Indian. Project planners say the Cortina site would initially take in 300 tons of refuse daily, gradually increasing to 1,500 tons a day, and receive up 12.5 million tons of refuse over two decades.

The Cortina tribe and Earthworks Industries Inc., a Canadian waste-management firm, last year gave North Bay a half-interest in the landfill project in exchange for about $16 million of cash and loans.

Spokesmen for the developers have repeatedly denied that Sonoma County trash would be hauled to Colusa, insisting that the origin of trash was still undetermined.

First proposed in 1995, the project is viewed as a moneymaker for the tribe, but has been consistently attacked by opponents as a potential water and air pollution threat.

The conflict peaked with a 2003 county lawsuit against the U.S. Interior Department for approving the project. However, mounting legal costs caused supervisors to abandon the suit three years later.

Marshall said he hopes to see the issue come to a conclusion soon.

"It's a very important environmental issue that we need to continue to look at," Marshall said, "but, it's expensive to fight and these are tough times, fiscally. I'm sure the money could be better spent elsewhere."