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Lone Pine tribal official urges Inyo supervisors to seat District 5 supervisor as full Great Basin board member
Summary
Mel Joseph, environmental director for the Lone Pine Paiute‑Shoshone Reservation, urged the board to appoint the District 5 supervisor as a full member — not an alternate — of the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District board, citing Owens Lakebed air‑quality concerns and environmental justice.
Mel Joseph, environmental director for the Lone Pine Paiute‑Shoshone Reservation, used the meeting’s public‑comment period to ask the Inyo County Board of Supervisors to ensure the District 5 supervisor is seated as a full member — rather than an alternate — on the Great Basin Unified Air Pollution Control District Board.
Joseph said the District 5 supervisor’s district “contains the worst source of air pollution in the nation” and said seating the district supervisor as an alternate was “a complete representation disaster,” raising equality and environmental‑justice concerns for communities affected by Owens Lakebed dust management and related projects.
Joseph asked the county to restore the past practice in which District 5 supervisors were seated as full members of the Great Basin board. The board did not take formal action on the request during the meeting; Joseph’s comment was recorded during the public‑comment portion of the agenda.
