The Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Reservation in southern California is home to at least 26 illegal dumps, including the largest one in the state. "I would say this is in its own league," Clancy Tenley, the tribal program manager for the Environmental Protection Agency, told The Los Angeles Times. "I don't know of any place that has this level of pollution." The EPA, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Tribe have been trying to shut down the dumps, which are located on allotted land. But they have had little success until recently, when they started to work together, although some officials say tribal leaders are part of the problem. The dumps pose major environmental, health and safety risks. Some have been put on the EPA's Superfund list of toxic sites. Get the Story:
Toxic waste litters desert Indian reservation (The Los Angeles Times 6/2)
pwday Relevant Links:
Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians - http://www.torresmartinez.org Related Stories:
BIA threatens to close reservation trailer park (05/16)
Dump on Torres Martinez Reservation fined $46M (03/23)
EPA goes after dumps on Torres Martinez land (3/21)
Another fire burns at Torres Martinez dump (11/28)
Board allocates funds for Torres Martinez dump (11/16)
Torres Martinez Reservation dump on Superfund list (10/20)
Underground fire on Torres Martinez Reservation (09/14)
Judge closes dump on Torres Martinez Reservation (08/09)
Editorial: Little help for tribes with illegal dumps (12/19)
Illegal dumping a big problem on reservation (12/13)
Fire burns for a week on Torres Martinez Reservation (04/11)
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)
