Opinion
Editorial: Little help for tribes with illegal dumps


"Unfortunately, many Indian tribal lands across America serve as the nation's secret dumping grounds. The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla tribe's land in the east valley is among those reservations.

Torres Martinez leaders last week urged a Coachella Valley Association of Governments committee to support stepped-up enforcement of anti-dumping ordinances. The Solid Waste and Recycling Technical Working Group rightly voted for a resolution calling just for that. CVAG's executive committee also should approve the resolution.

While that would be a move in the right direction, it alone likely won't be enough to curb illegal dumping. That only will happen by changing federal law, which Rep. Mary Bono and other Congressional delegates from California should press for."

Get the Story:
Editorial: Time for Congress to act against illegal dumping on tribal lands (The Palm Springs Desert Sun 12/19)

From the Indianz.Com Archive:
Agencies, tribes fight waste (August 11, 2000)

Related Stories:
Illegal dumping a big problem on reservation (12/13)
Fire burns for a week on Torres Martinez Reservation (04/11)
EPA to act on riverside dump on Indian allotment (03/02)
California tribe to use EPA grant to monitor water (02/02)
Calif. tribe gives members bottled water (02/11)
Church ordered to remove tent from reservation (10/05)
Judge asked to shut down reservation dump site (7/24)
Feds seek to close reservation mobile home park (07/11)
Waste dump on reservation told to stop burning (05/08)