The BLM has responded to recent vocal opposition to a proposed communications tower by extending the public comment period until October 7th, a three week extension past the original deadline of September 16th.
Morongo Valley resident Sara Fernandez, who organized last week’s GoFundMe campaign that successfully raised over $12,000 for legal services to help residents oppose the tower project, told Z1077 that while the attorney she has acquired had nothing to do with BLM’s extension, the attorney was “very pleased to hear the news.” Fernandez said that while she could only speculate, she was aware of a resident who submitted a comment via email just two hours before the extension was announced; a sequence of events she feels was “no coincidence.”
While the resident requested to be anonymous for this story, their letter cites federal laws about discrimination and civil rights, expressing the deception to expect the community to read over 400 pages of their report and submit substantiated comments when many of them don’t have computers or smartphones, weren’t adequately notified, or might be too low income to afford attorneys to write letters on their behalf.
The resident’s letter cites multiple executive orders to support their claims, including “the belief that BLM is in direct violation of Executive Order 12898 3-301 c, discriminating against the low income population and violating the civil rights of many Morongo Valley citizens.” The letter goes on to state “they couldn’t find any proof that the BLM collected any information, did any analysis regarding race, national origin or income level regarding the community of Morongo Valley.” The resident’s letter asks the BLM to immediately reject the application to build the tower, urging they hire a third party to analyze executive order 12898 in its entirety and publicly disclose any violations and discrimination by the BLM against the citizens of Morongo Valley.
In related news, local officials at the Morongo Valley Community Services District provided the use of Covington Park’s multipurpose room yesterday, to assist residents who may not be computer savvy to write their own substantiated comments to the BLM for their own opposition to the tower project. Afterwards, the MVCSD Board of Directors approved their updated resolution recommending the BLM deny the Grant of Right of Way to the project’s applicant.
Previously Reported:
