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Feds Won't Pursue Landfill Next to Joshua Tree Nat'l Park
Today marks the end of a nearly 20-year battle over creating a landfill, purportedly the largest in the world, next door to Joshua Tree National Park. The Department of the Interior today announced they will not appeal a 9th Circuit Court decision to ban a public lands be exchange with a company that wanted to create the Eagle Mountain landfill, which would be filled by 20,000 tons of trash from L.A. County via train six days a week for 117 years. “Secretary [Ken] Salazar made the right decision to protect our national treasure--Joshua Tree National Park-- from a literal mountain of trash,” said Mike Cipra of the National Park Conservation Association. “Los Angeles’ future garbage disposal needs can be offset with existing landfills and increased recycling.”
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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