By
The Wildcat Opinions Board
As children, we were taught a few simple rules that have remained true throughout our lives. Among them was clean up messes you help make. That lesson, simple as it seems, has been applied many times on the international, national and local levels. The Nazi party, for example, and modern-day Germany were forced to pay for the horrible crimes they committed against more than 10 million people earlier this century. In the 1980s, Exxon (now the Exxon Mobile Corp.) spent hundreds of millions cleaning up after their oil spill off the coast of Alaska.
Now, here in Tucson, the University of Arizona is involved in a situation that dwarfs in comparison to the above examples, but still deserves the same treatment.
Tumamoc Hill, an 869-acre plot of property on Tucson's west side, is the home of UA Desert Laboratory, which is the oldest ongoing research site of desert plants in the world. The lab sits on the 549 acres that the UA has controlled since 1957. During the 1960s, the UA and city of Tucson agreed to use a 20-acre plot on the area not controlled by the UA as a landfill. In all, about 365,000 tons of waste was dumped in the landfill between 1962 and 1966.
Now, however, the dumping has created a problem - the waste is exposed, thus jeopardizing the sale of part of the land at an upcoming auction. Instead of wanting to chip in and remedy this, however, it looks as if the UA is going to turn the other cheek.
Steven Holland, the UA director of risk management and safety, said last week that the university will take part in discussions about the project to clean up the landfill, but won't play a role in its sealing.
"The goal is to reach some conclusion that everybody is happy with," Holland said.
Well, Tucson residents and environmentalists certainly won't be happy with the fact that 365,000 tons of waste are lying exposed on property partly operated by the UA, an institution that by nature should have the public's best interest at heart. And Pima County, which was in negotiations with the State Land Department to buy the land for $2.68 million, is also not pleased about the condition of the land.
"Pima County is having a second thought about the land buy," said Arlan Colton, a State Land Department worker who helps look after the landfill.
No matter which party is more responsible for the waste dumping, something needs to be done, and soon. To do its part, Tucson city officials said last week that they would do the clean up if given the necessary funding - between $1 million and $3 million, depending of if more soil tests are needed.
"The city would love to clean the whole thing, but someone has to provide some money," said M.J. Dillard, a senior engineering associate for the city's solid waste management department.
Certainly, the UA shouldn't be required to pay for the entire clean up, but refusing to chip in its share is both unfair and irresponsible. It doesn't help send out a positive message to the Tucson community about our role in the city, it doesn't help with the land sale, and probably most importantly, it doesn't help protect our land.
