Suisun Marsh ecology threatened by Super-Dump

2006-05-08 “Crowd gathers in Suisun to protest dump expansion”
by Kimberly K. Fu from “Vacaville Reporter” newspaper:
A small assemblage from Suisun City 's Lawler Ranch area gathered Sunday at nearby McCoy Creek Park to protest expansion of the Potrero Hills Landfill and decry the construction of a Wal-Mart Supercenter within the community.
 Either action will negatively impact the community, said Dwight Acey, spokesperson for grassroots organization Citizens Against the Dump Expansion.
 According to Acey, the landfill is already overwhelmed with waste. Layer upon layer of refuse is packed into about 300 acres, he said, and that muck includes tons of out-of-county garbage. The landfill is a regional dumping ground, he said, and accepts waste from counties within a 150-mile radius.
 "We should be responsible for Solano County garbage, not anyone else's," he said.
 That garbage, he said, encroaches upon the Suisun Marsh and poses a potential danger to animals grazing in the area.
 He also intimated that residents also are in harm's way, suffering from medical ailments reportedly brought on by their proximity to the dump.
 Environmentally, Acey said, the ecology is threatened because birds traversing the area, which is in the middle of the Pacific Flyway, are being prevented from stopping in. Peregrines unleashed by the countyare keeping the birds away, he said. And yet, other creatures attracted to the waste - and nitrogen contained within - are overrunning the neighborhood.
 Thousands of pigeons have flocked to Lawler Ranch, Acey said, and pesky bugs indigenous to the area are crossing from the marsh bordering the dump into the residential area and biting inhabitants.
 An expansion of the dump, he emphasized, would also negatively impact air quality.
 Ushering in a Wal-Mart Supercenter, on the other hand, would have the same effect all around, Acey said. He claimed that the city would claim less tax revenue from the business while bringing in a heavier traffic and crime flow.
 At the event, the organization also endorsed Karin MacMillan for the post of Solano County Supervisor, 3rd District.