BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: Illegal dump sites found By ERIC GALVAN, Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 12:57 AM PST
More than 50 illegal dumping sites were recently found throughout Imperial County, the public health director said Tuesday.
During a recent aerial survey looking for illegal dumping sites, which include tire and oil dumping sites, 52 sites were found on 77 properties, county Public Health Director Robin Hodgkin said during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting.
About 62 notices have gone out to property owners and about another 16 are scheduled to go out.
She said some of the dumping sites sit on multiple properties.
“Some of the sites are small,” Hodgkin said. “But some are larger and will require significant cleanup.”
Some property owners may face fines even though they had no doing in the illegal dumpings, Hodgkin said.
Jeff Lemore, of the county Environmental Health Department, said the county is working on developing a local ordinance that would try to go after the individuals caught dumping and make them responsible for cleanup and fines.
Said Supervisor Gary Wyatt: “Private property rights are under attack. We need to carve out some funding and deal with this problem that will not go away.”
Money sought for dunes
Daphne Greene, the state’s deputy director of off-highway motor vehicle recreation, during a presentation Tuesday said more than 1.9 million people visited the Ocotillo Wells off-road recreational site last year.
Because of the high number of visitors that recreate in Imperial County for off-highway vehicle purposes, Greene said the grant requests by the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Land Management El Centro Sector will likely be fully met.
The Sheriff’s Office requested $500,000 in OHV funding and the BLM requested $495,000.
Cemeteries targeted
Supervisors agreed to further look into an ordinance that would enforce the cleaning and maintenance of cemeteries.
During public comment, Linda Cooke, who has long been fighting for the cleanup of Memory Gardens Cemetery, said that a flag at the cemetery is dilapidated and shouldn’t be flying.
She asked that the county look into whether an ordinance has been adopted that would require specific cleanup.
She also said she nor the state have been able to get a hold of brothers Edgar and Hector Ballesteros of Chula Vista, who purchased the cemetery in May.
Supervisor Joe Maruca said he tried calling one of the brothers two weeks ago, but was unsuccessful.
The item will be looked into and brought back to the agenda in early December.
The Board of Supervisors will be dark until Nov. 27.
" My buddy, Deerslayer, paid $31 to dump a few pounds of Indian laurel which froze last January. The Worthington Road County dump is open on Sunday and Tuesday. CCR picks up once a week - and the green container it supplies is insufficiently sized to hold cuttings from large yards. Supervisor Wyatt is correct: private property owners are under attack - by government such as his which limits dump space and time while failing to pass a county ordinance mandating tire installers to collect a hefty recycling fee for tires they remove from rims. "
broncojohn wrote on Nov 7, 2007 5:36 PM:
" I think that the county has made going to the dump difficult. Make it easy and make it affordable, and most law abiding citizens would utilize the facilities. I think changes should be made to make it affordable and open on a regular basis. There should also be areas to collect recycle material. Travel around the county and you will see piles of tires. Tires should be a recycled item, pay a small fee for each tire returned, you may be surprised on how many tires are turned-in. That's my five cents worth. "
wriststrong wrote on Nov 7, 2007 3:06 PM:
" Some people are just FILTHY! "
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bonifacenation wrote on Nov 7, 2007 8:37 PM: