A Trashy Situation

Someone needs to step up and take responsibility.
As if an abandoned warehouse isn't ugly enough--
The site outside Wapato has become a dumping ground for people too lazy to take care of their trash.
We spoke with a tribal member disgusted with both the mess blowing into his yard --
And the confusion over who should clean it up.

That's exactly what this mess is. A tragedy. And like the blob -- it's taking over clifford casseka's yard.

"You can see all that fiber glass and stuff is just coming over..."

Clifford knows people drive by and think he's got the problem.

"People think that i'm trashing my own yard and here stuff's blowing across..."

But his real problem is a fear of what's next to come over -- rats? Toxic chemicals? Scavengers? All because people are lazy.

"People don't wanna pay the price to take their things to regular dumpsters...

So they come here.
And the people who should have cleaned up this dump 2 years ago... Are dragging their feet. Or they're too busy pointing fingers.
Clifford says the tribe told him it's a Yakima county issue -- because a non-tribal member leased that warehouse.
County commissioners balked at that answer.
it's still tribal land and just coz your tenant skipped out on you, doesn't make it the county's problem.
We called tribal land management.
Their explanation? This is enterprise land--like the casino.
After a day of running in circles...we learned this dump is indeed owned by tribal members.
The owners are protected by the US government under Indian Trust.
We have to submit an application to the feds to find out.
We'll let you know when that happens.

In the meantime... Clifford says he's staying put. He belongs to the tribe.. And he's proud of his home.

"Is that a solution to the problems across the street, me moving away and letting this happen? The solution for me is to address things like this."