thedrifter
06-20-07, 06:37 AM
Marines to 'raid' Gregory Canyon
By J. Harry Jones
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 20, 2007
What do you do with a piece of property you've been waiting for decades to use as a landfill?
Invite the Marines to attack.
The U.S. Marine Corps is planning to use Gregory Canyon – where developers have been trying to get permission to build a landfill – for three days of anti-terrorism urban training next month. The exercise will culminate with a large group of Marines raiding a simulated terrorist outpost.
The training will take place on a part of the parcel, owned by Gregory Canyon Ltd., with an abandoned dairy house and barn. Actors/instructors posing as terrorists will occupy the homestead starting July 28 as two or three two-person reconnaissance teams conduct surveillance.
The Marines will raid the “terrorist camp” on the evening of July 30, using two to four helicopters, or about a dozen vehicles if weather prevents the use of helicopters. The exercise is expected to last about 90 minutes.
Gregory Canyon Ltd., the partnership that owns 1,770 acres in the canyon off state Route 76, 3 ½ miles east of Interstate 15, asked the county's permission last month to let the Marines use the land. Gary Erbeck, director of the county's Department of Environmental Health, approved the exercise, saying the training will not significantly affect the environment.
A letter by Erbeck to the partnership Monday declares that all activities must remain in designated areas away from sensitive habitats.
“No damage to the existing structures will occur and the Marines will remove all debris and trash, and are required to leave the site in the condition as it was prior to the exercise,” the letter says.
During the 90-minute raid there will be some noise from helicopters, rifle fire and small explosive rounds.
The toads, however, will be safe.
“Sensitive habitat areas have been demarcated as out-of-bounds. . . . The homestead is located in an area with suitable upland arroyo toad habitat, but toads have never been encountered in this area in numerous surveys. No impacts to toads are expected,” Erbeck's letter says.
Why the Marines would want to train in Gregory Canyon, rather than somewhere on the 200 square miles of Camp Pendleton, was unclear. Officials on the Marine base did not return phone calls seeking comment yesterday.
“It's pretty unexplainable. Why on earth would you think about doing something like this in a pretty pristine canyon like Gregory Canyon?” said Everett DeLano, an attorney who has been fighting plans to build a landfill on the site for years.
Whether Gregory Canyon Ltd. is being paid by the Marines was also unclear. Richard Chase, a spokesman for the partnership, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Erbeck's letter notes that the training exercise is important to homeland security. It will be conducted by the 11th Marine Expeditionary Force and is designed to “test the combat readiness and special operations capability of the Marine unit prior to deployment.”
The Marines also must prepare a communications plan and conduct public notification to residents and interested parties that the exercise will take place.
J. Harry Jones: (760) 737-7579; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
Ellie
By J. Harry Jones
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 20, 2007
What do you do with a piece of property you've been waiting for decades to use as a landfill?
Invite the Marines to attack.
The U.S. Marine Corps is planning to use Gregory Canyon – where developers have been trying to get permission to build a landfill – for three days of anti-terrorism urban training next month. The exercise will culminate with a large group of Marines raiding a simulated terrorist outpost.
The training will take place on a part of the parcel, owned by Gregory Canyon Ltd., with an abandoned dairy house and barn. Actors/instructors posing as terrorists will occupy the homestead starting July 28 as two or three two-person reconnaissance teams conduct surveillance.
The Marines will raid the “terrorist camp” on the evening of July 30, using two to four helicopters, or about a dozen vehicles if weather prevents the use of helicopters. The exercise is expected to last about 90 minutes.
Gregory Canyon Ltd., the partnership that owns 1,770 acres in the canyon off state Route 76, 3 ½ miles east of Interstate 15, asked the county's permission last month to let the Marines use the land. Gary Erbeck, director of the county's Department of Environmental Health, approved the exercise, saying the training will not significantly affect the environment.
A letter by Erbeck to the partnership Monday declares that all activities must remain in designated areas away from sensitive habitats.
“No damage to the existing structures will occur and the Marines will remove all debris and trash, and are required to leave the site in the condition as it was prior to the exercise,” the letter says.
During the 90-minute raid there will be some noise from helicopters, rifle fire and small explosive rounds.
The toads, however, will be safe.
“Sensitive habitat areas have been demarcated as out-of-bounds. . . . The homestead is located in an area with suitable upland arroyo toad habitat, but toads have never been encountered in this area in numerous surveys. No impacts to toads are expected,” Erbeck's letter says.
Why the Marines would want to train in Gregory Canyon, rather than somewhere on the 200 square miles of Camp Pendleton, was unclear. Officials on the Marine base did not return phone calls seeking comment yesterday.
“It's pretty unexplainable. Why on earth would you think about doing something like this in a pretty pristine canyon like Gregory Canyon?” said Everett DeLano, an attorney who has been fighting plans to build a landfill on the site for years.
Whether Gregory Canyon Ltd. is being paid by the Marines was also unclear. Richard Chase, a spokesman for the partnership, could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Erbeck's letter notes that the training exercise is important to homeland security. It will be conducted by the 11th Marine Expeditionary Force and is designed to “test the combat readiness and special operations capability of the Marine unit prior to deployment.”
The Marines also must prepare a communications plan and conduct public notification to residents and interested parties that the exercise will take place.
J. Harry Jones: (760) 737-7579; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com
Ellie