Mar
24
Mitzelfelt Renews Landfill Access for BLM Cleanups
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On March 23, I re-issued passes to the federal Bureau of Land Management that will allow the agency full and free use of county landfills. My decision to reinstate the BLM’s dump cards is intended to assist with ongoing desert cleanup efforts and to help promote improved interagency cooperation. The passes were revoked by the County about six years ago amid policy disputes.
While I agree with the County’s original action in revoking the passes, I believe that my priority of cleaning up our desert must recognize the important role the BLM plays as a partner in that effort. My predecessor was right in protesting a BLM settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity that severely impacted our ranching industry. But by now we have made our point, and it is my hope that by cutting the BLM’s costs and red tape associated with their access to our landfills we will be helping their cleanup efforts.
The BLM, along with the National Park Service, manages vast stretches of federally controlled land in San Bernardino County. Having recently been appointed to the Public Lands Steering Committee of the National Association of Counties and as Vice-Chairman of the QuadState County Government Coalition (www.quadstate.org), public lands are a high priority of mine.Â
Currently the County is an intervenor co-defendant in a federal lawsuit by environmental groups challenging the BLM’s West Mojave Plan. The plan is a habitat conservation program that streamlines development and protects the desert tortoise among other threatened species.
I am also pushing for the federal government to officially acknowledge County road rights of way in two separate efforts, one of which is a cooperative process to attain a “recordable disclaimer” or quitclaim deed, for Camp Rock Road from Lucerne Valley to Barstow. The other effort is a quiet title action in federal court against the National Park Service asserting rights of way on County roads in the Mojave National Preserve. Both efforts rely upon R.S. 2477, a federal law that preserves local use of roads on federal lands – and associated regulations – as their legal basis.
Mar
13
The Desert is Not a Dumping Ground
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On March 13, my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors joined me in adopting a number of measures aimed at attacking the problem of illegal dumping in San Bernardino County. Our new county ordinance creates fines and penalties for dumpers. County Code Enforcement Officers will be authorized to issue citations with penalties ranging from infractions with fines of $100 to $500, to misdemeanor citations with fines of $500 to $10,000 and six months in jail.
The Board, at the urging of Fifth District Supervisor Josie Gonzales, also directed staff to return to the Board with a proposal to create a reward program for those who report illegal dumpers, as well as to purchase additional surveillance cameras for problem-area enforcement.
The First District is very large, with many rural unincorporated areas where illegal dumping is a major problem. So I am also organizing community cleanups and that he would be re-issuing dump passes to the Bureau of Land Management to assist them with their cleanup efforts.
People who would dump trash or other hazardous waste in our beautiful desert need to get the message that we are not going to tolerate that behavior in San Bernardino County. Cracking down on illegal dumping is one of my top priorities.
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