It’s officially OK to stack garbage over 1000 feet high in Santee.

Posted on November 7, 2011 by admin

SAN DIEGO — A compromise has been reached in the eight-year legal battle regarding the Sycamore Landfill’s future expansion.The city of Santee was suing the city of San Diego claiming San Diego was using Santee as its dumping ground.

Trash mounted up so high in Santee’s Sycamore Landfill that residents became concerned. Many across the East County were starting to call it “Mount Trashmore.” A steady flow of traffic – including trucks filled with trash and debris – goes to the landfill. Much of the trash comes from the city of San Diego. “The fact of the matter is, there is no one in the city of San Diego affected by this landfill, so that’s why it’s so important for the City Council in Santee to lookout for its residents,” said Santee vice-mayor John Minto. Now, the city of Santee, the city of San Diego and Allied Waste Services have come to an agreement. Eight years ago, the city of San Diego said trash could reach 1,150 feet, which is about two-thirds the height of Cowles Mountain across the valley. The new agreement means the height will now reach 1,050 feet.

“The idea is that we have a mountain behind us that doesn’t look like refuse,” said Minto.  Under the agreement, dumping will be reduced by 5,000 tons per year. The entrance to the landfill will also be reconfigured to ease traffic congestion.  The city of Santee will also receive about 25 cents for every ton of trash brought into the landfill.  “That allows us to take care of things in the street that might go wrong or it might help do other things around the city,” said Minto.  10News made phone calls to the city attorney handling the case for the city of San Diego and Allied Waste Services but calls were not returned.

 

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.