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Torres Martinez Solid Waste Collaborative Status Reports
March 2007 (PDF) (2 pp, 670K)
October 2006 (PDF) (4 pp, 613K)
August 2006 (PDF) (4 pp, 349K )
About PDF
Pictured left to right are: Raymond Torres, Torres Martinez Reservation; Rosalie Mule, California Integrated Waste Mgt. Board; Roy Wilson, Riverside County; Wayne Nastri, EPA; James Fletcher, Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Billboard sign asking individuals to report illegal dumping
No Dumping sign on the Torres Martinez land
Collaborative Mission
The mission of the collaborative is to clean up and prevent illegal dumping on the Torres Martinez Reservation.
Updates
Left to right Willard Chin, Clancy Tenley, Rich Vaille, Kimberli Smith, Wayne Nastri, Michael Hingerty, Kaoru Morimoto, Karen Ueno, Jason Musante, Carolyn Douglas, Caleb Shaffer, Loren Henning, Leticia Moore, Morena Villanueva, and Jane Diamond. (not pictured: Erica Yelensky and Francisco Arcaute).
Torres Martinez Solid Waste Collaborative Team
The Team was recognized for their exceptional leadership, creativity and vision in stopping the massive illegal dumping and burning of solid waste in Southern California's Torres Martinez Band of Cahuilla Indians desert home. The Team led a coalition of 25 public and private parties to successfully combat open dumping in one of the nation's most beleaguered tribal communities. This accomplishment represents one of the most concerted and successful efforts to improve environmental and health protection in Indian county in the Agency's history.
6/16/07 Since the formation of the Torres Martinez Solid Waste Collaborative in April 2006, the collaborative has closed the three largest dumps on the reservation, cleaned up and installed access controls for almost half of the smaller dumps, and EPA has initiated four enforcement actions against dump operators.
In addition, we have conducted emergency response actions to eliminate imminent health risks, set up check-points for trucks headed to the reservation, conducted aerial monitoring, erected billboards offering rewards for reporting violators, and conducted an aggressive outreach campaign in English and Spanish, reaching from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea.
Collaborative Members
TribeTorres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Tribal Council, Tribal Administrator, Tribal Resource Manager, Planning Department and Environmental Department.
FederalU.S. EPA, BIA, Indian Health Service, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, USDA Rural Development, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
StateCalifornia Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), South Coast Air Quality Management District, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, California Air Resources Board, California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) and California Highway Patrol.
LocalCenter for Community Action and Environmental Justice, City of Coachella, City of Indio, Coachella Valley Association of Governments, Desert Alliance for Community Empowerment, Desert Mirage High School, Mecca Community Council, Oasis Community Council, Riverside County Code Enforcement and Community Improvement Department, Riverside County, Riverside County Department of Environmental Health, Riverside County Department of Waste Management, Riverside County District Attorney's Office, Riverside County Fire Department/California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Riverside County Sheriff, and Southern Coachella Valley Service District.
EPA Contact Information
Willard Chin (chin.willard@epa.gov) (415) 972-3797
Erica Yelensky (yelensky.erica@epa.gov) (415) 972-3021