Composting facility expansion under fire
Valley hotels are putting personality front and center in lobby designs
FRIDAY’S PREP FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD n SPORTS
n ESCAPE
Cathedral City 34 West Valley 21
Redlands 35 Palm Desert 29
Notre Dame 32 Xavier Prep 28
Temescal Canyon 38 La Quinta 14
Palm Springs 28 Corona 14
San Jacinto 42 Indio 14
Coachella Valley 44 Desert Mirage 6
Ramona 54 Shadow Hills 53 (2OT)
Rubidoux 15 Desert Hot Springs 14
Cast your vote for Friday Night Hero at mydesert.com/facebook
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2013
WWW.MYDESERT.COM
House OKs stopgap spending bill that cuts off Obamacare
EAST VALLEY ENVIRONMENT
Senate expected to defeat bill next week SHUTDOWN EFFECTS
By Susan Davis USA Today
WASHINGTON — The House voted 230-189 along party lines Friday to approve a stopgap spending bill to fund the federal government through midDecember, but it is facing certain defeat in the Senate because it includes language aiming to dismantle President Barack Obama’s health care law. Just one Republican, Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., voted against it and two conservative Democrats, Reps. Jim Matheson of Utah and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina voted in favor. Without a stopgap spending bill, the federal government will feel the effects of a shutdown when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. The bill extends the current rate of gov-
Miguel Soto separates small scraps of trash from food waste at Burrtec’s Coachella Valley Composting facility in Coachella on Friday. JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN
Composting facility expansion under fire By Dave Nyczepir The Desert Sun
The Desert Sun
A man is turned away just outside the gate to Burrtec’s Coachella Valley Composting on Friday after the facility had filled its daily intake quota. JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN
transparent as it should be. But we’re going to force them to reconsider,” said Sam Torres, Indio city councilman. “If it doesn’t make sense in La Quinta, don’t dump it in the east valley. It’s insulting.” The proposal is to change the permit for Burrtec Waste Industries, increasing the maxi-
PALM DESERT — The College of the Desert Board voted Friday to extend the contract of President Joel Kinnamon another 14 months, despite the objection of the student trustee and more than a dozen faculty members. Kinnamon has led the college for 14 months, and his original
GOOD MORNING
contract was not set to expire for another three years, on July 9, 2016. Board members extended his contract until Kinnamon Sept. 17, 2017. Although the contract was extended, Kinnamon’s compensation package did not change. During a brief interview dur-
By Skip Descant The Desert Sun
Bed taxes collected by the valley’s hotels and vacation rentals amounted to more than $50 million last year for local governments, showing tourism remains one of the key economic drivers for the region. Those hotel taxes — known in the business as transient occupancy taxes — came in strongest in Palm Springs, which collected nearly $19.4 million in the 2012-13 fiscal year, according to city finance reports. The “brand city” for the Coachella Valley posted an 8.5 percent gain over the pre-
Please see COD, A4
vious fiscal year. This funding stream is essential, say city leaders, for providing city services. “I would say it’s absolutely crucial to us maintaining a balanced budget and providing the services that our residents ask for,” said Paul Lewin, a Palm Springs city councilman. “The growth we are seeing, we are so fortunate. And a lot of it has to do with our partners in tourism industry that have reinvested in their properties and we’ve rebuilt the brand from where it was.” Next door, Cathedral City collected $1.1 million in hotel
INSIDE TODAY’S PAPER
BLACKOUT ENDS
TRIBAL TREASURES The Coachella Valley History Museum kicks off its fall season with a unique display of artifacts from area tribes. B1
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Syria sends initial list of chemical weapons to watchdog. A9
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ing a break in the meeting, Board President Michael O’Neill said the extension was necessary because Kinnamon’s first year as president had been spent managing the college during crisis. The president “deserved” a full, four-year term that was separate from the challenges he inherited when he joined COD, O’Neill said.
93° 65°
The Desert Sun is printed using recycled paper
Please see STOPGAP, A6
COACHELLA VALLEY TOURISM
Please see COMPOST, A10
Nice time in the desert
Abby D7 Bridge H2 Comics D6 The Deuce C2 Lottery B5 Movies D7
ernment spending at $986 billion a year. House Republicans attached a provision to defund the Affordable Care Act, a consistent target of congressional Republicans. However, the provision has no chance of approval in the Democraticcontrolled Senate and it faces
“The most basic responsibility of Democrats and Republicans in Congress is to keep our government running and pay our bills. Republicans insist on holding our country hostage to their mean-spirited right-wing agenda that will lead us toward fiscal disaster, which cost taxpayers $19 billion the last time they tried this.” U.S. SEN. BARBARA BOXER, a Rancho Mirage Democrat
COD extends Kinnamon contract to allow him full ‘crisis-free’ term By Brett Kelman
Essential government programs such as air traffic control, Social Security, Medicare and mail delivery would all continue, but national parks and museums would be closed, and agency operations would slow or stop. The White House and the U.S. Congress would continue to operate.
“I’m disappointed that hyper-partisans in Congress are manufacturing another crisis that will risk our country’s economic recovery. The American people deserve better. It’s time for Republicans and Democrats to work together to pass a bipartisan bill that ensures our recovering economy continues to grow, that our troops in combat continue to receive pay, and that our veterans and seniors continue to receive critical benefits they earned. I Ruiz stand ready to work with my colleagues in both political parties toward that end.” REP. RAUL RUIZ, Palm Desert Democrat, who voted against the House measure
Indio, Coachella leaders fear fouling of air as in case of La Quinta plant COACHELLA — East valley leaders are fighting Riverside County’s proposal to expand the Coachella Valley Compost facility in their backyards, a move they say blindsided them. The county revealed the plan for the Coachella site on Aug. 8, weeks before it shut down the California Bio-Mass recycling facility in Thermal on Aug. 30. The extra waste could start filling the site by January. Bio-Mass was shut down because of odor complaints from the Trilogy neighborhood in La Quinta, which was about 1 mile away. The county expansion would bring its recycling property within 1 to 3 miles of planned developments in Indio and Coachella. “The county has adopted these plans, and they did it in a bureaucratic fashion that’s not as
A government shutdown would not be immediately felt by most Americans.
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FROM PAGE 1
A10 | THE DESERT SUN | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2013
Compost
“Cal Bio-Mass went for quick profits and did everything wrong in terms of handling this material in the desert. Burrtec is a distinctly different animal.”
Continued from A1
mum daily tonnage of organic waste processed on the compost site from 250 tons to 785 tons and expand the area about 5 acres. The composting site already handles things like green waste, food waste, construction wood and palm fronds. The permit change would add animal manure. The site would stay open seven days a week instead of the current six, and the number of permitted vehicles would go from 169 to 536 — increasing traffic on the roads. The changes will not have a significant environmental impact on the region, according to the Riverside County Waste Management Department. Coachella has sent a letter to waste management stating its environmental assessment underestimated the expansion’s potential impact, and an Environmental Impact Report was required under the California Environmental Quality Act. The community group Comite Civico del Valle sent a similar letter stating the size of the project necessitated a full report. “Our position isn’t necessarily to say that we’re against the project, just to make sure the project is mitigated and sited in the right location,” said Luis Olmedo, executive director of the organization. Given the scope of the changes, Torres said he was disturbed to receive a one-page invitation Friday, Aug. 16, to a project information meeting on Monday, Aug. 19. He said he couldn’t attend on such short notice. Since moving to Indio in 2007, Torres said he’s seen the east valley shoulder its fair share of county’s environmental burdens, especially concen-
JOHN BENOIT County Supervisor
Yard waste is separated and processed at Burrtec’s Coachella Valley Composting facility. JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN
trated hazardous waste. In 2012, Indio and Coachella were designated environmental justice areas within the Coachella Valley under Assembly Bill 1318 — in need of emission reduction funds. A June 2013 study performed by the UC Davis Center for Regional Change found the east valley faced significant environmental health hazards far exceeding that of the West Valley or Riverside County as a whole. Coachella City Councilman Steven Hernandez said a lot of facts were thrown out at the meeting at Fantasy Springs Resort, but there was little discussion. He said they were told the change was because Bio-Mass —which typically received 150 tons of organic waste a day, according to its owner — was shutting down, but the county disputes that. Hernandez said the city supports composting waste, but the biggest question is where and how it’s done. “We shouldn’t be doing everybody else’s recycling,” he said. In 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a statewide policy goal to reduce, recycle or compost 75 per-
cent of all waste by 2020. Riverside County Chairman John Benoit has recommended that the Board of Supervisors consider an ordinance regulating the siting, approval and operations of future composting facilities — hoping to establish five or six new large-scale composting facilities by the governor’s deadline. At the same Indio City Council meeting that members aired their concerns about the composting site expansion, Torres said the council approved about 680 new homes in the Terra Lago development, which is about 3 miles from the site. “Here we’re going to approve senior housing on the border of this recycling property, and they’re trying to expand it,” Torres said. “It just blew my mind.” Indio also annexed Citrus Ranch — just north of Terra Lago — in the last year with the intent of adding several thousand single-family homes. Citrus Ranch represents the next wave of development for Indio, meaning the city is five to seven years away from hearing complaints like Trilogy’s if the composting site is expanded, Torres said.
Hernandez said Coachella has 5,000 homes planned within the site’s 1mile radius. Hans Kernkamp, general manager for the Riverside County Waste Management District, said the county believes its initial environmental assessment is sufficient. “There’s a misunderstanding that this is just going to be another Cal Bio-Mass,” Kernkamp said. “It’s difficult to capture in a one-page document that this is not going to be another Cal BioMass.” The expansion won’t lead to odor complaints because it uses a better composting process than Cal Bio-Mass did, he said. At Cal Bio-Mass, free liquids and grease added to the compost piles would run off and form pools, Kernkamp said. Green waste would then cover the pools, causing the bacteria inside to stew and release terrible odors when disturbed. The Coachella Valley Compost facility avoids grease pooling by regularly turning its piles once free liquids are added. “The biggest key for a compost facility is material handling,” said Frank Orlett, Burrtec district manager. “If you handle the material appropriately, there’s no issue.”
If Riverside County OKs Burrtec’s permit change, the Coachella site’s maximum daily grease allowance will increase from 12,500 to 55,000 gallons. Orlett said there’s no cause for concern about the increase or resulting odors, adding that just because the facility has the grease doesn’t mean they’ll use it. “We can’t simply add extra grease, because it’s critical for us to maintain a certain level of nutrients in the compost for sale,” Orlett said. “We’re only as good as our last batch.” While Cal Bio-Mass’ closure certainly didn’t help the valley’s composting situation, the need to accept more waste at the Coachella site predated the closure, Kernkamp said. Burrtec started the process for the expansion permit back in 2010 when it noticed a steady increase in waste volume coming in, Orlett said. The site reaches its 250ton cap on organic waste daily, typically closing between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. About 1:30 p.m. on Friday, a few truck drivers looking to deposit organic waste from different corners of the valley were turned away. Dwarfed by a large hill that’s all that remains of the Coachella Valley Landfill, the composting operation seems rather small by comparison. A few loaders and other machines wound their way among brown compost
mounds. The air smelled like mulch. If people have no place to bring their waste, there’s a fear they may begin illegally dumping material. However, county code enforcement hasn’t reported any dumping hotspots to the South Coast Air Quality Management District since Cal Bio-Mass closed. “From what I’ve seen and heard, I think Burrtec has a good record of managing material,” said Rudy Gutierrez, environmental justice adviser for the air quality district. “I don’t think outreach to the community was done properly or effectively, and there’s a misconception of what’s actually happening.” Supervisor Benoit said the issue needs to be publicly aired. “Cal Bio-Mass went for quick profits and did everything wrong in terms of handling this material in the desert,” Benoit said. “Burrtec is a distinctly different animal. They’ve been doing it right for 13 years without complaint.” His office also has received complaints from small business owners about the Coachella site closing early. “It’s not a complete process yet. It hasn’t come to the board. It’s not approved,” Benoit“ said. "We’ve asked the applicant to do additional work and come back to us.” Riverside County has agreed to extend the period for public comment on its proposal through Sept. 30. At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, there will be an open meeting about the project at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, 82503 Highway 111, in Indio. Burrtec also will give a closed presentation to Terra Lago’s homeowner association on Sept. 25 and another presentation to Indio City Council on Oct. 2. The county could hold a public hearing on the matter as early as Nov. 5, and if approved, the state agency Cal Recycle has 60 days to sign off.
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FRIDAY’S PREP FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD n SPORTS
n ESCAPE
Cathedral City 34 West Valley 21
Redlands 35 Palm Desert 29
Notre Dame 32 Xavier Prep 28
Temescal Canyon 38 La Quinta 14
Palm Springs 28 Corona 14
San Jacinto 42 Indio 14
Coachella Valley 44 Desert Mirage 6
Ramona 54 Shadow Hills 53 (2OT)
Rubidoux 15 Desert Hot Springs 14
Cast your vote for Friday Night Hero at mydesert.com/facebook
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2013
WWW.MYDESERT.COM
House OKs stopgap spending bill that cuts off Obamacare
EAST VALLEY ENVIRONMENT
Senate expected to defeat bill next week SHUTDOWN EFFECTS
By Susan Davis USA Today
WASHINGTON — The House voted 230-189 along party lines Friday to approve a stopgap spending bill to fund the federal government through midDecember, but it is facing certain defeat in the Senate because it includes language aiming to dismantle President Barack Obama’s health care law. Just one Republican, Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., voted against it and two conservative Democrats, Reps. Jim Matheson of Utah and Mike McIntyre of North Carolina voted in favor. Without a stopgap spending bill, the federal government will feel the effects of a shutdown when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. The bill extends the current rate of gov-
Miguel Soto separates small scraps of trash from food waste at Burrtec’s Coachella Valley Composting facility in Coachella on Friday. JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN
Composting facility expansion under fire By Dave Nyczepir The Desert Sun
The Desert Sun
A man is turned away just outside the gate to Burrtec’s Coachella Valley Composting on Friday after the facility had filled its daily intake quota. JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN
transparent as it should be. But we’re going to force them to reconsider,” said Sam Torres, Indio city councilman. “If it doesn’t make sense in La Quinta, don’t dump it in the east valley. It’s insulting.” The proposal is to change the permit for Burrtec Waste Industries, increasing the maxi-
PALM DESERT — The College of the Desert Board voted Friday to extend the contract of President Joel Kinnamon another 14 months, despite the objection of the student trustee and more than a dozen faculty members. Kinnamon has led the college for 14 months, and his original
GOOD MORNING
contract was not set to expire for another three years, on July 9, 2016. Board members extended his contract until Kinnamon Sept. 17, 2017. Although the contract was extended, Kinnamon’s compensation package did not change. During a brief interview dur-
By Skip Descant The Desert Sun
Bed taxes collected by the valley’s hotels and vacation rentals amounted to more than $50 million last year for local governments, showing tourism remains one of the key economic drivers for the region. Those hotel taxes — known in the business as transient occupancy taxes — came in strongest in Palm Springs, which collected nearly $19.4 million in the 2012-13 fiscal year, according to city finance reports. The “brand city” for the Coachella Valley posted an 8.5 percent gain over the pre-
Please see COD, A4
vious fiscal year. This funding stream is essential, say city leaders, for providing city services. “I would say it’s absolutely crucial to us maintaining a balanced budget and providing the services that our residents ask for,” said Paul Lewin, a Palm Springs city councilman. “The growth we are seeing, we are so fortunate. And a lot of it has to do with our partners in tourism industry that have reinvested in their properties and we’ve rebuilt the brand from where it was.” Next door, Cathedral City collected $1.1 million in hotel
INSIDE TODAY’S PAPER
BLACKOUT ENDS
TRIBAL TREASURES The Coachella Valley History Museum kicks off its fall season with a unique display of artifacts from area tribes. B1
Luxurious and Restorative! (Includes cleansing, extractions, hydration, and massage for face, neck, décolleté and arms!)
Now $79!!
REFINE PORES & TIGHTEN SKIN! Uses new hydro-brasion for exfoliation plus the latest in galvanic technology for plumping lines, firming skin and refining unsightly pores. Results can last up to 4 weeks!
WEAPONS REPORT
NEW
Syria sends initial list of chemical weapons to watchdog. A9
$1 all markets
To subscribe or report a delivery problem, call (800) 834-6052 or visit mydesert.com/cs
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Boxer
Hotels sell pricier rooms, send more tax to cities
ing a break in the meeting, Board President Michael O’Neill said the extension was necessary because Kinnamon’s first year as president had been spent managing the college during crisis. The president “deserved” a full, four-year term that was separate from the challenges he inherited when he joined COD, O’Neill said.
93° 65°
The Desert Sun is printed using recycled paper
Please see STOPGAP, A6
COACHELLA VALLEY TOURISM
Please see COMPOST, A10
Nice time in the desert
Abby D7 Bridge H2 Comics D6 The Deuce C2 Lottery B5 Movies D7
ernment spending at $986 billion a year. House Republicans attached a provision to defund the Affordable Care Act, a consistent target of congressional Republicans. However, the provision has no chance of approval in the Democraticcontrolled Senate and it faces
“The most basic responsibility of Democrats and Republicans in Congress is to keep our government running and pay our bills. Republicans insist on holding our country hostage to their mean-spirited right-wing agenda that will lead us toward fiscal disaster, which cost taxpayers $19 billion the last time they tried this.” U.S. SEN. BARBARA BOXER, a Rancho Mirage Democrat
COD extends Kinnamon contract to allow him full ‘crisis-free’ term By Brett Kelman
Essential government programs such as air traffic control, Social Security, Medicare and mail delivery would all continue, but national parks and museums would be closed, and agency operations would slow or stop. The White House and the U.S. Congress would continue to operate.
“I’m disappointed that hyper-partisans in Congress are manufacturing another crisis that will risk our country’s economic recovery. The American people deserve better. It’s time for Republicans and Democrats to work together to pass a bipartisan bill that ensures our recovering economy continues to grow, that our troops in combat continue to receive pay, and that our veterans and seniors continue to receive critical benefits they earned. I Ruiz stand ready to work with my colleagues in both political parties toward that end.” REP. RAUL RUIZ, Palm Desert Democrat, who voted against the House measure
Indio, Coachella leaders fear fouling of air as in case of La Quinta plant COACHELLA — East valley leaders are fighting Riverside County’s proposal to expand the Coachella Valley Compost facility in their backyards, a move they say blindsided them. The county revealed the plan for the Coachella site on Aug. 8, weeks before it shut down the California Bio-Mass recycling facility in Thermal on Aug. 30. The extra waste could start filling the site by January. Bio-Mass was shut down because of odor complaints from the Trilogy neighborhood in La Quinta, which was about 1 mile away. The county expansion would bring its recycling property within 1 to 3 miles of planned developments in Indio and Coachella. “The county has adopted these plans, and they did it in a bureaucratic fashion that’s not as
A government shutdown would not be immediately felt by most Americans.
Includes lite acid peel, microdermabrasion, RF (tightens skin), plus microcurrent (firms muscles). No Downtime! Reg. $279.00
ONLY $99.00
74-140 El Paseo • #1 • Palm Desert www.youngerbytonightspiritualspa.com
Please see TOT, A6
FROM PAGE 1
A10 | THE DESERT SUN | SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2013
Compost
“Cal Bio-Mass went for quick profits and did everything wrong in terms of handling this material in the desert. Burrtec is a distinctly different animal.”
Continued from A1
mum daily tonnage of organic waste processed on the compost site from 250 tons to 785 tons and expand the area about 5 acres. The composting site already handles things like green waste, food waste, construction wood and palm fronds. The permit change would add animal manure. The site would stay open seven days a week instead of the current six, and the number of permitted vehicles would go from 169 to 536 — increasing traffic on the roads. The changes will not have a significant environmental impact on the region, according to the Riverside County Waste Management Department. Coachella has sent a letter to waste management stating its environmental assessment underestimated the expansion’s potential impact, and an Environmental Impact Report was required under the California Environmental Quality Act. The community group Comite Civico del Valle sent a similar letter stating the size of the project necessitated a full report. “Our position isn’t necessarily to say that we’re against the project, just to make sure the project is mitigated and sited in the right location,” said Luis Olmedo, executive director of the organization. Given the scope of the changes, Torres said he was disturbed to receive a one-page invitation Friday, Aug. 16, to a project information meeting on Monday, Aug. 19. He said he couldn’t attend on such short notice. Since moving to Indio in 2007, Torres said he’s seen the east valley shoulder its fair share of county’s environmental burdens, especially concen-
JOHN BENOIT County Supervisor
Yard waste is separated and processed at Burrtec’s Coachella Valley Composting facility. JAY CALDERON/THE DESERT SUN
trated hazardous waste. In 2012, Indio and Coachella were designated environmental justice areas within the Coachella Valley under Assembly Bill 1318 — in need of emission reduction funds. A June 2013 study performed by the UC Davis Center for Regional Change found the east valley faced significant environmental health hazards far exceeding that of the West Valley or Riverside County as a whole. Coachella City Councilman Steven Hernandez said a lot of facts were thrown out at the meeting at Fantasy Springs Resort, but there was little discussion. He said they were told the change was because Bio-Mass —which typically received 150 tons of organic waste a day, according to its owner — was shutting down, but the county disputes that. Hernandez said the city supports composting waste, but the biggest question is where and how it’s done. “We shouldn’t be doing everybody else’s recycling,” he said. In 2011, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a statewide policy goal to reduce, recycle or compost 75 per-
cent of all waste by 2020. Riverside County Chairman John Benoit has recommended that the Board of Supervisors consider an ordinance regulating the siting, approval and operations of future composting facilities — hoping to establish five or six new large-scale composting facilities by the governor’s deadline. At the same Indio City Council meeting that members aired their concerns about the composting site expansion, Torres said the council approved about 680 new homes in the Terra Lago development, which is about 3 miles from the site. “Here we’re going to approve senior housing on the border of this recycling property, and they’re trying to expand it,” Torres said. “It just blew my mind.” Indio also annexed Citrus Ranch — just north of Terra Lago — in the last year with the intent of adding several thousand single-family homes. Citrus Ranch represents the next wave of development for Indio, meaning the city is five to seven years away from hearing complaints like Trilogy’s if the composting site is expanded, Torres said.
Hernandez said Coachella has 5,000 homes planned within the site’s 1mile radius. Hans Kernkamp, general manager for the Riverside County Waste Management District, said the county believes its initial environmental assessment is sufficient. “There’s a misunderstanding that this is just going to be another Cal Bio-Mass,” Kernkamp said. “It’s difficult to capture in a one-page document that this is not going to be another Cal BioMass.” The expansion won’t lead to odor complaints because it uses a better composting process than Cal Bio-Mass did, he said. At Cal Bio-Mass, free liquids and grease added to the compost piles would run off and form pools, Kernkamp said. Green waste would then cover the pools, causing the bacteria inside to stew and release terrible odors when disturbed. The Coachella Valley Compost facility avoids grease pooling by regularly turning its piles once free liquids are added. “The biggest key for a compost facility is material handling,” said Frank Orlett, Burrtec district manager. “If you handle the material appropriately, there’s no issue.”
If Riverside County OKs Burrtec’s permit change, the Coachella site’s maximum daily grease allowance will increase from 12,500 to 55,000 gallons. Orlett said there’s no cause for concern about the increase or resulting odors, adding that just because the facility has the grease doesn’t mean they’ll use it. “We can’t simply add extra grease, because it’s critical for us to maintain a certain level of nutrients in the compost for sale,” Orlett said. “We’re only as good as our last batch.” While Cal Bio-Mass’ closure certainly didn’t help the valley’s composting situation, the need to accept more waste at the Coachella site predated the closure, Kernkamp said. Burrtec started the process for the expansion permit back in 2010 when it noticed a steady increase in waste volume coming in, Orlett said. The site reaches its 250ton cap on organic waste daily, typically closing between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. About 1:30 p.m. on Friday, a few truck drivers looking to deposit organic waste from different corners of the valley were turned away. Dwarfed by a large hill that’s all that remains of the Coachella Valley Landfill, the composting operation seems rather small by comparison. A few loaders and other machines wound their way among brown compost
mounds. The air smelled like mulch. If people have no place to bring their waste, there’s a fear they may begin illegally dumping material. However, county code enforcement hasn’t reported any dumping hotspots to the South Coast Air Quality Management District since Cal Bio-Mass closed. “From what I’ve seen and heard, I think Burrtec has a good record of managing material,” said Rudy Gutierrez, environmental justice adviser for the air quality district. “I don’t think outreach to the community was done properly or effectively, and there’s a misconception of what’s actually happening.” Supervisor Benoit said the issue needs to be publicly aired. “Cal Bio-Mass went for quick profits and did everything wrong in terms of handling this material in the desert,” Benoit said. “Burrtec is a distinctly different animal. They’ve been doing it right for 13 years without complaint.” His office also has received complaints from small business owners about the Coachella site closing early. “It’s not a complete process yet. It hasn’t come to the board. It’s not approved,” Benoit“ said. "We’ve asked the applicant to do additional work and come back to us.” Riverside County has agreed to extend the period for public comment on its proposal through Sept. 30. At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, there will be an open meeting about the project at the Riverside County Fairgrounds, 82503 Highway 111, in Indio. Burrtec also will give a closed presentation to Terra Lago’s homeowner association on Sept. 25 and another presentation to Indio City Council on Oct. 2. The county could hold a public hearing on the matter as early as Nov. 5, and if approved, the state agency Cal Recycle has 60 days to sign off.
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