I orres Martinez Solid
!^J Waste Collaborative

Xjt PRCjSsx a Partnership of Tribal, Federal, State and Local Agencies

to Stop Illegal Dumping on the Reservation

The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Community
encompasses approximately 24,000 acres of the Coachella Vallei/,
in eastern Riverside County and northern Imperial County.
The current population on the reservation is approximately
12,000 residents, including approximately 250 tribal members.

The Torres Martinez Tribal Government, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and local, state, and other federal agencies formed
the Solid Waste Collaborative in Spring of 2006. The mission of the collaborative
is to develop and implement a multi-jurisdictional plan to clean up and prevent
illegal dumping on the Torres Martinez Reservation.

The Coachella Valley, where the Torres Martinez Reservation is located, is growing
rapidly. There are many new housing and other developments under construction
to accommodate the expanding population. With this increased development,
the volume of solid waste illegally dumped on the reservation has been growing,
particularly construction and demolition debris and green waste from off-
reservation sources.

August 2006 Status Report


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The Torres Martinez Tribe, U.S. EPA and the Bureau
of Indian Affairs convened a meeting of the
collaborative on April 24-25, 2006 in response to
the growing need to prevent further illegal
dumping. The collaborative identified approx-
imately 20 illegal dump sites and developed an
action plan to address the issue. Several sub-
committees were formed as a result of the action
plan. These include: community outreach, moni-
toring compliance, dump cleanup and access
control, and infrastructure development.

COLLABORATIVE MEMBERS

TRIBE

Torres Martinez Band of Desert Cahulila Indians
Tribal Council, Tribal Manager, Tribal Administrator,
Tribal Resource Manager, and Environmental
Department.

FEDERAL

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Indian Health
Service (IHS), U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural
Development (USDA), Office of Native American
Programs at U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), and U.S. Bureau of
Land Management (BLM).

STATE

California Integrated Waste Management Board
(CIWMB), South Coast Air Quality Management
District (SCAQMD) and California Department of
Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).

LOCAL

City of Coachella, City of Indio, Coachella Valley
Association of Governments, Desert Alliance for
Community Empowerment, Desert Mirage High
School, Mecca Community Council, Oasis
Community Council, Riverside County, River-
side County Code Enforcement & Community
Improvement Division, Riverside County Depart-
ment of Waste Management, Riverside County
Fire Department, Riverside County Sheriff, and
Southern Coachella Valley Service District.

PROGRESS TO PATE

COMMUNITY OUTREACH
In June 2006 the tribe sent a letter to all
landowners and residents on the reservation
reminding them about the tribe's Land Use
Ordinance. The tribe is currently designing
billboards to advertise anti-dumping efforts and
warn waste transporters of the consequences
of illegal dumping.

The Outreach Taskforce published a Spanish/
English bilingual dumping alert in local Coachella
Valley newspapers and cities within the
Coachella Valley in August 2006. (Please refer
to the illegal dumping alert insert.) U.S. EPA will
work with the Outreach Taskforce to distribute
the alert to builders, waste haulers, tire haulers
and golf courses in the area.

U.S. EPA is working with California Integrated
Waste Management Board (CIWMB) to develop
a guide for picking up waste tires at a community
clean-up event. For more information contact
Caleb Shaffer of U.S. EPA at (415) 972-3336.

The Outreach Taskforce holds bi-weekly confer-
ence calls to update members of current events
and opportunities for outreach. Members of the
Outreach Taskforce include the Torres Martinez
Tribe, Riverside County, Riverside County Fire
Department, and U.S. EPA.


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MONITORING COMPLIANCE
Members of the collaborative formed a smaller
working group to monitor and reduce illegal
dumping on the reservation. As part of this effort
U.S. EPA issued four notices of potential viola-
tion in response to the illegal dumping of grape
stakes and other waste on the reservation. In
July 2006, U.S. EPA inspected eight facilities
suspected of disposing of solid and hazardous
waste on the reservation and assisted four
reservation landowners with proper manage-
ment of waste tires and used oil.

On August 7, 2006, in the ongoing federal
enforcement action against the Lawson Dump,
the U.S. District Court Judge ordered Kim Lawson
and Lawson Enterprises to immediately stop all
activities at the Lawson Dump and vacate the
site. On August 9, 2006, BIA padlocked the site
to prevent any additional dumping.

Members of the Monitoring Compliance Task-
force include U.S. EPA, the Torres Martinez Tribe,
and the Riverside County Sheriff's Office.

PUMP CLEANUP AND ACCESS CONTROL
The Dump Cleanup and Access Control task-
force met on May 23, 2006 to develop a clean-
up plan for the dump sites. The group agreed
to an action pian addressing the 20 dumps on
the reservation. U.S. EPA and BIA have provided
funding for dump closures, and CIWMB will
consider further funding at its August board
meeting.

The Torres Martinez Tribe has completed cleanup
and is installing a fence to restrict access to a
site near Martinez Road. In August, the tribe will
begin cleaning up a site on Avenue 70 between
Highway 195 and Expressway 86.

Members of the Dump Cleanup and Access
Control Taskforce include the Torres Martinez
Tribe, U.S. EPA, BIA, Indian Health Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Devel-
opment and the California Integrated Waste
Management Board.

INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
The Torres Martinez Tribe is completing an anal-
ysis of the waste generated on the reservation
and is revising its waste disposal ordinance. The
USDA and the tribe are discussing funding
opportunities through a USDA Community Facility
Grant to pay for surveillance cameras and
access control gates.

Members participating in the Infrastructure
Development Taskforce include the Torres
Martinez Tribe, USDA and U.S. EPA.

The purpose of this status report is to update all
stakeholders and community members on the
progress of the multi-agency effort to deal with
illegal dumping issues on the Torres Martinez Band
of Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation. If you are
interested in becoming involved in the colla-
borative, contributing to the next status report, or
would like additional copies of this one, please
contact Willard Chin of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, Region 9 at chin.willard®)
epa.gov: Tel: (415) 972-3797; Fax: (415) 947-3562.

USDA

Rural

Development

> —^ Office of
f flitive Ameriari
Programs

Office ot PablK b Irdun HDtiiing


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United States
^M^|»|apVJk Environmental Protection
"\W hI - !t Agency

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX
75 Hawthorne Street (CED-3)

San Francisco, CA 94105
Attn: Willard Chin

Official Business

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