FALLBROOK -- Attorneys for the Pala Band of Mission Indians sent a letter to county officials Wednesday in a bid to defend a proposed ballot measure that would scrap the controversial Gregory Canyon landfill.

The Pala tribe backed a signature gathering effort to repeal zoning that approved the site for the $60 million landfill, which is proposed for 1,770 acres of land in San Diego County, about two miles west of the Pala Indian Reservation and three miles east of the Highway 76-Interstate 15 interchange.

The letter was sent to the San Diego County Counsel and Registrar of Voters in response to a June 16 request from landfill attorneys that the registrar reject the tribe's petitions because they incorrectly stated that portions of the landfill project would be in Riverside County.

The tribe's letter challenges the registrar's authority to reject the petitions for any reason other than procedural failures, such as a lack of signatures. The letter states that only the courts have the jurisdiction to reject the ballot measure, and that the typographic errors were minor enough that they did not mislead voters.

The issue has been referred from the registrar's office to county attorneys for review.