BILL NUMBER:  SB 833
  VETOED	DATE: 10/10/2011




To the Members of the California State Senate:
I am returning Senate Bill 833 without my signature.
This bill would prohibit the construction of a particular waste
disposal project in San Diego County.  This project-which has been
the subject of vigorous local debate for over 20 years-has been put
to a vote of the people of San Diego twice and approved both times.
The primary concerns about this project relate to its proximity both
to a river and to a site sacred to federally recognized tribes.
Protection of the river is the duty and responsibility of the San
Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, with a right of appeal to
the State Water Board.  Numerous other regulatory agencies also have
responsibilities for protecting the river.  In other words, there is
already in place a fully sufficient process to make a thoughtful and
informed environmental decision about this project.
I am deeply concerned about the objections raised with respect to the
sacred site, but I don't believe it is appropriate for the
Legislature to now intervene and overturn this hard fought local
land-use decision.
This dispute pains me given the unspeakable injustices the native
peoples have endured and the profound importance of their
spirituality and connection to the land.  There's no question that
more thought needs to be given to how we resolve this inherently
difficult decision and to find ways for native peoples and their
fellow Californians to coexist in an inexorably modernizing world.
Sincerely,

Edmund G. Brown Jr.