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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2001

The Department of Interior has placed on hold the designation of a former garbage dump as a National Historic Landmark because it is actually a Superfund toxic waste site.

Secretary Gale Norton on Monday named the Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill in Fresno County, California as one of 15 new historic sites. It was recommended to her by Denis Galvin, deputy director of the National Park Service.

Galvin, however, says he did not know the landfill was actually a Superfund site for which the Environmental Protection Agency has spend $38 million to clean up. The dump has leaked toxic chemicals into the groundwater.

Norton also designated the Sheldon Jackson School in Sitka, Alaska, as an historic landmark. The press release Norton's office sent out said the school was instrumental in stripping Native students of their culture.

Get the Story:
Calif. Debate: Who Made This Dump a Landmark? (The Washington Post 8/29)
Denials Fly Over Dump as Landmark (The Los Angeles Times 8/29)
Its Notorious Past Unearthed, Dump Loses Landmark Status (The New York Times 8/29)
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Secretary Norton Designates 15 Sites in 11 States as National Historic Landmarks (DOI 8/27)