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AQMD, Cabazon Band of Mission Indians Sign Agreement to
Enforce Air Quality Rules on Tribal Land near Mecca
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January 18, 2012
Southland air quality officials have reached a government-to-government
agreement with the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians to enforce local air
quality regulations in the 640-acre Cabazon Resource Recovery Park near
Mecca.
“We are very pleased that the Cabazon Band has committed to an agreement
with AQMD to enforce air quality regulations in the industrial park near
Mecca,” said John J. Benoit, a Riverside County Supervisor and AQMD
Governing Board Member. “We look forward to partnering with the Cabazon Band
to protect public health and air quality.”
“We would like to thank AQMD and its staff for the cooperation and efforts
put forth toward a mutually acceptable agreement by both parties,” said
Tribal Chairman David Roosevelt. “This agreement is the demonstration of our
commitment to the community and environmental stewardship on sovereign
lands.”
The government-to-government agreement is a significant step forward in
protecting air quality in the Mecca area since the Cabazon Band and many
Native American tribes across the country maintain that state and local
agencies have limited authority to enforce their regulations on sovereign
tribal land.
The agreement establishes an air sampling, monitoring and enforcement
procedure. In addition, under the agreement the Cabazon Band will:
• Require facilities operating within the Cabazon Resource Recovery Park –
including Western Environmental Inc. -- to comply with all applicable AQMD
rules. AQMD will provide technical expertise in developing conditions to be
imposed on operating permits issued by the Cabazon Band to non-tribal owned
facilities;
• Provide access to AQMD personnel into facilities within the Cabazon
Resource Recovery Park to conduct air sampling, monitoring and inspection
activities;
• Include an AQMD representative on the Tribal Environmental Board
established to oversee environmental issues within the Cabazon Resource
Recovery Park;
• Establish a community benefit program where any penalties assessed for air
quality rule violations will be set aside for programs benefitting residents
of the Cabazon Reservation and surrounding communities;
• Require facilities to reimburse AQMD for sampling, monitoring and
inspection activities consistent with requirements for Southland facilities
outside tribal land;
• Allow AQMD to enforce permits issued by the U.S. EPA to facilities
operating within Cabazon Resource Recovery Park.
Once AQMD issues a violation notice, the Tribal Environmental Board reviews
it and approves, modifies or rejects it. In addition, a facility or AQMD can
appeal to the Cabazon Tribal Court if the violation notice remains in
dispute 90 days after it was issued.
The agreement does not apply to Colmac Energy, Inc., a biomass-to-energy
plant in the resource recovery park. Colmac has operated under a monitoring
and enforcement agreement with AQMD, the Cabazon Band of Mission Indians,
the County of Riverside and the Coachella Valley Association of Governments
and with endorsement from U.S. EPA, since 1989.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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This page updated:
January 18, 2012
URL: http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/2012/cabazonmoupr.htm
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