The following story came off today's wire service.
Note that the alert for the Ward Valley scoping hearing in
Sacramento is on the abalone's web site.
The address is http://www.sfo.com/~rherried
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Interior Secretary Challenged on Dumping in Desert PALM SPRINGS,
Calif. (AP) -- Speaking at a convention of map experts, Interior
Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 18:38:56 -0400
Secretary Bruce Babbitt took aim at Republicans for failing to protect
natural resources; but he dodged himself when questioned about waste
dumping in the desert.
Babbitt was the keynote speaker at an international conference of 5,500
users of geographic imaging system software. The computer mapmaking tool
is widely used in solving environmental problems.
Outside, about 15 desert residents picketed, challenging Babbitt to resist
five major dumps proposed for the California desert. They waved signs
saying ``We don't need no stinking megadumps,'' and ``Don't give away our
lands, Mr. Babbitt.''
Babbitt said in his speech that the Republican Congress was misreading the
public in trying to weaken environmental laws.
However, he refused during a news conference to take positions on the
desert dumping plans, saying he had to wait until public hearings and
administrative reviews were completed.
Proposals include a nuclear waste dump near Needles, a dump for hazardous
material near Newberry Springs and three giant garbage dumps near Desert
Center, Amboy and Glamis.
The nuclear waste dump has been particularly controversial.
Conservationists and many local people, including Indian tribes, claim
radioactivity from its unlined trenches could pollute the Colorado River
and the region's drinking water.
``All these dumps contribute to the view that the desert is a wasteland
and that is dangerous,'' said Christine Carraher, spokeswoman for Stop
Rail-Cycle, a landfill envisioned near Amboy in San Bernardino County.
The conference was sponsored by Redlands-based Environmental Systems
Research Institute.
AP-WS-05-22-96 1649EDT