The Project
The East Otay Mesa Recycling Collection Center and Landfill project is planned as a Class III solid waste landfill, to be located in the East Otay Mesa area in the southeast part of unincorporated San Diego County.
The proposed landfill and operations would be sited on 340 acres in the Otay Mountain foothills just west of the San Ysidro Mountains. The site is about two miles east of the Siempre Viva Road exit off of Interstate 905, a 1/4 mile from Loop Road/Paseo De La Fuente, and east of the planned extension of State Route 11. The project footprint is immediately west of the Otay Mountain Wilderness and 1/4 mile north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Permit Application Process
In California, landfills are permitted by the Solid Waste Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) in each county, in concurrence with the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle). The LEA becomes the “lead agency” for the permit application process. The County of San Diego would typically have authority over the applicable local land use permits, such as a Major Use Permit, that the applicant must also obtain. However, through the ballot measure the project proponent was able to achieve certain local approvals that normally would require Board of Supervisors action for this kind of project:
the General Plan was amended to designate the site as Public/Semi-Public with a Solid Waste Facility Designator
all applicable County sub-regional and community plans and maps were amended with the General Plan amendment
the County Zoning Ordinance was amended to change the zoning to Solid Waste Facility
the landfill was “hard-wired” into the County Integrated Waste Management Plan by amending the Siting Element of the CIWMP to add the site as a potential disposal location
As a result of how the ballot measure was written, the Board of Supervisors does not have legislative authority over the project. The project developer is not required to obtain a Zoning Designation Change, Major Use Permit, or Special Area Amendment. Building and grading permits will need to be approved by the County; these permits are granted by County planning staff. The project will need to obtain all relevant State and Federal permits.
Project Status
In September 2011, the LEA prepared and circulated an Initial Study for the East Otay Mesa Landfill project which identified potential significant impacts of the project and triggered the need for an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). In October 2011, the County issued a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the EIR. The applicant and its consultants began the initial CEQA work of preparing EIR technical studies. The project was tied up for a few years in a federal lawsuit over Fairy Shrimp issues on the property, so it was not until the period Fall 2018 to Spring 2019 that the applicant began to engage more actively again with the County.
In May 2019, the County’s Department of Public Works Environmental Services Unit began the work to coordinate CEQA preparation. During the development of the EIR, consultants conduct technical studies and prepare EIR chapters. While a definitive timeline is not known, the release of the Draft EIR could be within the year. Once the Draft EIR is released for circulation, the prescribed CEQA process will be followed to finalize and certify the EIR. The landfill also will be subject to the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA). As well, the applicant will need to obtain numerous other local, state, and federal permits.
DHEQ Initial Study Map