— by Steven Dick and Tracy Austin
We’re delighted to announce that the conditional use permit (CUP) extension Recology fought so hard for, and even took the county to court over (and won), expired on Wednesday, December 7, 2016, after 5 long frustrating years.
The Jungo dump is no more.
To be honest about it, this is not a great victory for NAG (Nevadans Against Garbage) or the citizens of Humboldt County.
Granted, we all made a lot of noise, gave of our time, money and skills making our views known. We all deserve great credit for that. Thank you each and every one. Recology out-spent, out-lawyered and threatened Humboldt County. There would have been a dump out along Jungo Road had it not been for the self-inflicted wounds and subsequent implosion of Recology itself. Not only did they fail to live up to the terms of the CUP, the details of which are buried somewhere on our Nevadans Against Garbage website, but they never secured a lease or ownership of the land for their proposed dump site. But it didn’t end there. Recology wasn’t even able to secure a single solitary contract to haul California garbage into Nevada from California.
LESSONS LEARNED:
- Pay attention to what is happening in our community
Read and investigate Humboldt County Commissioners (HCC) and Regional Planning Commission (RPC) agendas. Show up at commission meetings and participate whenever possible. Get to know your representatives and ask questions. The fight against Recology’s proposed Landfill started AFTER the RPC had approved a very weak conditional use permit (CUP) that did not require even a “basic” environmental impact statement or other items not covered by Nevada law - Demand accountability from Commissioners
Speak up during “public comment periods” raising questions as to whether the HCC and RPC are following up to ensure CUP requirements are being met. Demand that actions be taken when there is evidence some entity is not following through in implementing requirements. We cannot allow entities coming into our county to bully and sue. Require your District Attorney to support the efforts. - Be aware that the State of Nevada has some fairly lax environmental regulations and if President-Elect Trump’s candidate to lead the EPA is confirmed, the same could prove to be true across our entire nation
Compared to regulations in surrounding states, our lax regulations could be an invitation for polluting businesses and industries to locate here. Nevada can be a pretty “cheap date.” If you care about our land, air and water, then you’ll need to be vigilant. Remember, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) did not require an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Jungo Landfill CUP. California, on the other hand, did require an EIS on the rail route between San Francisco and the Recology Yuba County Landfill. - NDEP isn’t always the “end all” of everything environmental.
For example. no consideration was undertaken as to which direction the wind blows off Jungo Road or who it is/was who owned the land Recology wanted to build their dump on. Who owns the land and thus who would be held accountable for issues down the road should problems express themselves are extremely important considerations that weren’t effectively addressed upfront before approving the CUP. - It takes money, strong environmental policies, hired experts, committed citizens and elected/appointed leaders over periods of multiple years to stop deep-pocketed companies intent on getting their way
In the meantime, their activities can and do seriously harm our fragile desert environment and ecosystems. Inconsistency in any of these areas can be detrimental and inhibit effective recovery. - Petition local governmental agencies to make better use of social media.
HCC meetings are conducted during the workday when many members of the community are at work themselves. RPC meetings generally are held once monthly at 5:30 pm on the second Thursday to consider various land use applications. As many from the mining community don’t get back into town until 6:30 pm or later, most if not all of the RPC meeting has already been addressed before they could arrive. Agendas (and meeting packets as appropriate) for various board and commissions are posted, but utilizing various social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn at a minimum) would enhance the ability of citizens to follow activities - Demand that links to the “Agenda Packets” for public meetings be included on the County’s Agenda Page
Currently, the inclusion of packet information to be considered (for upcoming meetings) or that was considered (at previously held meetings) are sporadic at best. Packets were made available to the commissioners/board members and should also be available to the public at large. - Currently, one can only subscribe to the Agenda/Minutes RSS feeds using an RSS Reader.
Demand that County Boards/Commissions set up a process whereby citizens can “subscribe” to receive email agendas, minutes, packets.
Throughout the activities with associated with the proposed dump, there have been some encouraging things that occurred. Who could have predicted overflowing commission meetings? Similarly, who would have anticipated picketing at the courthouse and lots of letters to the editor? An unwanted mega-dump motivated people to become more involved in their community. Time and the natural flow of events were probably the main factors, but the dump undoubtedly helped. Since the CUP’s original approval, the makeup of the HCC and the RPC has changed. In fact, as of this writing, women now head these bodies. Hopefully, going forward more people will become actively involved and maybe even volunteer to serve on the RPC or run for election to the HCC.
Steve (NAG website) and Tracy (FB and twitter), are kind of the last two standing from when Tami, Annie and Lianne raised the issue. There have been many of you working on this issue and planting sign after sign after sign. Your efforts to improve our community are greatly appreciated. We cannot thank you enough. You know who you are, and we will be happy to work with you again should the opportunity arise.