Arizona Daily Star

November 28th, 2006

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Bradley Angel Greenaction

(415) 248-5010

More protests likely over plan for toxic-waste dump in Sonora

By Lourdes Medrano

"Putting a toxic-waste dump so close to Quitovac, which we consider a sacred site, is just a violation of our spiritual beings and our way of life."
-- Olivia Rivas, Tohono O'odham member

U.S. tourists traveling in Sonora could see more protests like the one that held up traffic over the weekend at the Lukeville Port of Entry, say activists on both sides of the border.

The protests are intended to pressure the Mexican government into abandoning plans for a toxic waste dump on Tohono O'odham land near Sonoyta, which is about 50 miles north of Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point.

Over objections from residents of Sonoyta and its neighboring O'odham community, Mexico's top environmental agency has approved construction of a landfill that would bring in up to 45,000 tons of toxic industrial waste annually. But in July, Sonoyta government officials said they opposed the project, and denied the local permits needed to proceed.

Since then a municipal election has put a new local government in office, but efforts to reach the presidente, or mayor, of Sonoyta on Monday were not successful.

Opponents of the federal government's plan say they fear the toxic dump would contaminate the region's water, land and air.

Ofelia Rivas, whose O'odham tribe is split by the border, said Monday that efforts to stop the project would continue until Mexico's Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources stops it.

" I won't feel comfortable until they tell us the project is dead," Rivas said. "Putting a toxic waste dump so close to Quitovac, which we consider a sacred site, is just a violation of our spiritual beings and our way of life."

Officials of the federal agency, which has worked with a private company on the landfill plans, did not return calls Monday. But in an e-mail to Bradley Angel, director of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, an official with the Mexican environmental agency said there have been misunderstandings about the project.

Alfonso Flores Ramirez wrote in late September that even with its federal authorization, the project could not operate without the approval of the local municipality. He also said the proposed landfill poses no threat to the area.

Angel said his group is concerned that the federal government might not adhere to its own laws and would build the landfill despite local government opposition. He blames the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to take a strong stand against the project under binational agreements.
Having a large hazardous- waste dump close to the border poses a risk "to people and the environment on both sides," Angel said.

The site is about 12 miles from Quitovac, which is a couple of miles east of the Mexican highway that tourists use on their drive to the popular beach town of Puerto Peñasco.
Wendy Chavez, a spokeswoman for the EPA in San Francisco, reiterated that the Mexican federal agency has said the project cannot go on without the consent of local governments.

The EPA is looking for clarification, she wrote in an e-mail, "to better understand the local process." In a recent review of the proposed landfill, the EPA concluded that it lacked enough information to "confidently assess impact to the U.S."

The EPA document also makes recommendations to the Mexican agency on areas of concern, such as the potential impact on air, and urges officials to consult with the Tohono O'odham Nation.

The tribe passed a resolution in June opposing the landfill.