A recent court decision may delay the opening of the Gregory Canyon landfill.

NORTH COUNTY — The saga of the Gregory Canyon landfill is like an old LP that keeps getting stuck and repeats the same tune over and over.

A new court ruling, the latest in a long list, may have dealt another blow to the proposed landfill – leaving opponents pleased and proponents saying it's just a small bump on a long road.

A court decision in November favorable to the landfill prompted opposite reactions.

At issue now is a contract between the Olivenhain Municipal Water District and Gregory Canyon Ltd., the developer, to truck recycled water to the landfill site, off state Route 76 about 3½ miles east of Interstate 15. The water would be needed to control dust during construction and when soil is compacted over the trash.

On Jan. 9, the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that the contract was invalid, leaving the developers searching for an alternate source of water.

Nancy Chase, spokeswoman for Gregory Canyon Ltd., said the ruling should have little effect, because there is a source of water available at the site, which was once a dairy farm.

“The decision is relatively meaningless,” Chase said, and plans are still in place to start construction by July.

Everett DeLano, who represents opponents including the environmental group Riverwatch, the Pala Indian tribe and the city of Oceanside, called the ruling “a significant setback for the developers.”

DeLano said coming up with a new source of water will probably require a new environmental study and mean a long delay. He dismissed the idea that the ruling was insignificant.

“It reminds me of the Monty Python skit,” he said, referring to a scene in the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” during which the Black Knight has both arms sliced off and comments, “It's just a flesh wound.”

North County has no landfill now. Most of its trash is shipped south to other county landfills.

Opponents of the Gregory Canyon project, planned for two decades, have long argued that it is an environmental disaster waiting to happen because it could leak and contaminate the nearby San Luis Rey River and groundwater.

Supporters have said the landfill would have the most modern containment systems, monitors and other safeguards, all but eliminating the risk of leaks.

In 1994, voters countywide approved a measure that in effect rezoned land in Gregory Canyon to allow a landfill. Proposition B, an effort in 2004 to permanently block construction, was sponsored primarily by the Pala Indian band, whose reservation is just to the east of the site. It was overwhelmingly defeated.

J. Harry Jones: (760) 737-7579; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com