An Open Letter to the Santa Clarita Valley Communities

Dear Fellow Resident:

    Whenever I travel up the Antelope Valley Freeway on my way home to Agua Dulce, I am constantly impressed at the majesty of the surrounding mountains and the stark, natural beauty of the Santa Clarita Valley.  Driving to Sand Canyon to eat, or into Canyon County to shop, or to Valencia for entertainment, always reminds me of the wonderful diversity of our Valley. Whether I'm hiking amidst the drama of Vasquez Rocks, horseback riding in and out of the beautiful rolling hills, or running errands in my car - the skies are blue and dappled with snowy white clouds, the air is fresh, and the relaxed atmosphere of a community at peace with itself is abundant. Lately, however, I hike the rocks in fear of their very survival! I ride the valleys afraid that they won't exist for future generations; and now when I look at our blue skies I imagine the dark plumes of rancid dust spiraling upward to obscure the clouds with the polluted haze of particulate matter from the proposed TMC/CEMEX Soledad Canyon Sand and Gravel Mining project!

     This mammoth project is currently on hold as its fate is litigated in Federal Court. TMC/CEMEX and the United States Justice Department (representing the Bureau of Land Management) are in litigation with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who denied the project a Surface Mining Permit. If the County of Los Angeles, as the Lead Agency, ultimately settles and agrees to the project as proposed, TMC/CEMEX could be issued permits to mine aggregates (sand and gravel) over a 460 acre site with concrete processing facilities on an additional 40 acres. The mine is located north of Soledad Canyon Road, south of the Antelope Valley Freeway, and west of Agua Dulce Canyon Road. In our immediate section of Northern Los Angeles County, the project is approximately two miles from the City of Santa Clarita's eastern boundary, and three miles from the Sand Canyon Road intersection.  This project site has been designated by the State of California as a Regionally Significant Construction Aggregate Resource Area, as is most of the corridor following the pathway of the Santa Clara River Watershed.

     In accordance with two ten year Federal contracts executed in 1991 between the Bureau of Land Management and TMC (now CEMEX), the company would mine 56.1 million tons of sand and gravel over an extended 20 year period, and pay $28 million in royalties to the Federal government.  This proposal would also establish a precedent for even more extensive mining projects, ultimately creating a mining dominated area similar to Irwindale and Azusa.

    Excavation activities will proceed fourteen hours per day, six days per week, and include "Low Level Blasting" two times per week during the first phase (approximately 10 years), and four times per week during the second phase (approximately 10 years), using 8,800 pounds of Ammonium Nitrate per blast.  The aggregate processing plant will operate 16 hours per day, seven days per week; with a batch plant producing ready-made cement operating seven days a week, at 17 hours per day.

    Aggregate products and cement will be shipped from the project site 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, creating 754 Average Daily Traffic trips (ADT's) during the first phase, and 1284 ADT's during the second phase.  The majority of this traffic with its high levels of both diesel and internal combustion engine emissions will be driving up and down the Antelope Valley Freeway.

    Other environmental factors that may be adversely affected by this proposed project, and which have been evaluated in great detail to determine the full extent of their impact on the Santa Clarita Valley's beautiful, natural landscape, and urban/rural populations include the following: land use, air quality, water resources, traffic/circulation, noise/vibration/acoustical ramifications, biological resources, public health and safety, visual and recreational impacts, water quality, the continued safety and integrity of private wells, effects on livestock, the cumulative impacts of additional mining projects,  and a probable decline in property values, lifestyle, quality of life and the continued economic viability of the Santa Clarita Valley.

    As required by both State environmental law (CEQA) and Federal environmental law (NEPA), a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) and a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (Draft EIS) were circulated for public review and comment.  Both documents attempted to evaluate the full range of environmental factors that could be adversely affected by this initial 20-year mining proposal. After extensive analysis, experts retained by the City of Santa Clarita and Safe Action For the Environment, Inc., in conjunction with submissions from the Agua Dulce Town Council and a myriad of other organizations, concluded that the Draft EIR/EIS are exceptionally flawed documents, written to support a badly conceived project.  Please note that the original contracts executed between the Bureau of Land Management and Transit Mixed Concrete Company are nearly thirteen years old, and have no provision to deal with the expansive growth of the Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding unincorporated areas during that time period.  ALSO NOTE: the CalMat Co., a subsidiary of Valcun Materials, owns 1,300 acres immediately adjacent to the TMC/CEMEX site, and is quietly preparing it's own permit application.  The cumulative effect of almost 1,800 acres of surface mining on the quality of life and economic structure of Northern Los Angeles County would be devastating.  The potential CalMat project is three times larger than the TMC/CEMEX proposal, and is scheduled to operate over a 30-year period! And then what….

    With the above information in mind, in 1999 a small group of concerned people founded a new organization to help safeguard the environment by opposing unlimited mining in the Santa Clarita Valley, the Santa Clara River Watershed and the National Forest. This Ad Hoc citizen's group developed into a legally designated California Non-Profit, Public Benefit Corporation called SAFE ACTION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, INC. Run by a strictly volunteer workforce, SAFE's mandate is to raise the public's awareness of the devastating environmental impact of extensive Surface Mining on Northern Los Angels County. In partnership with the City of Santa Clarita, SAFE has worked to identify the numerous elements of serious impact on the environment. We have helped identify the best possible experts in specific disciplines and retained them.

    Over the last four years, SAFE has worked closely with The City of Santa Clarita, local Civic and Leadership organizations, state officials and agencies, and numerous politicians, in a continuous effort to keep our air as clean as possible, our water fresh and flowing, our roads free from injury and risk, and the quality of life in Northern Los Angeles County SAFE and secure.   

    Following our mission to locate and hire the best experts possible, Safe Action For the Environment, Inc. entered into agreements with experts in the fields of air quality, acoustical analysis, and Environmental Law. SAFE has also worked closely with experts hired by the City of Santa Clarita in Biology and Endangered Species, Construction Economics, Hydrology, Traffic modeling, and Public Health and Safety. Additionally, we have worked with the City on the potential consequences of extensive surface mining on the health of livestock, and the socioeconomic effects of extensive, cumulative mining on property values, quality of life and other health related considerations.

    Now we need your input. Please…take a few minutes and write Congressman Howard "Buck" McKeon and Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer in Washington, DC regarding the TMC/CEMEX Soledad Canyon Sand and Gravel Mine. Let them know your thoughts, feelings and concerns regarding the impacts the largest aggregate mine ever licensed by the BLM will have on you, your family and your community. Don't mince words or procrastinate! THESE ELECTED OFFICIALS NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU! Their addresses are available at the back of this publication. Communication is important - write today.  

     Safe Action for the Environment, Inc., a California Non-Profit, Public Benefit Corporation is committed to SAFE air, SAFE water, SAFE roads and a SAFE, SECURE ENVIRONMENT FOR EVERYONE. Please help this effort in any way you can. No single entity can successfully defeat this combination of big business and big government. WORKING TOGETHER, ALL OF US CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Staying SAFE is time consuming and expensive, but certainly worth the commitment.

    Thank you for joining Safe Action For the Environment, Inc., The City of Santa Clarita and over 100 additional "Opponents" currently on record opposing the TMC/CEMEX Soledad Canyon Sand and Gravel Mine. Help the Liberty Bell continue to ring by exercising your right to comment on your government's behavior and demand a change. Let's STOP a huge multi-national foreign corporation from degrading our environment and destroying our "inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". THIS IS OUR VALLEY - help protect it!

Sincerely,

Andrew G. Fried
President
Safe Action For the Environment, Inc.

CO-Chair
TMC Executive Advisory Committee

Cemex and the City: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

by Chris Austin

Originally published on www.scvtalk.com
Reprinted by permission

Cemex issued a press release earlier this month intended to refute the information given by the City of Santa Clarita regarding the proposed Cemex mine in Soledad Canyon. Susana Duarte, VP of Communications and Community Relations of Cemex, stated, “Cemex will provide straight talk, not misinformation about the project. We are mailing information to residents and creating a special mini-Web site to provide facts about the project. Our goal is to make sure residents can make informed and educated decisions regarding this project that are based on facts that have been verified by numerous studies, officials, and authorities.”

A Summary of Cemex's Press Release & the City's Efforts

Cemex contends that the proposed project is not the largest sand and gravel mine in the LA County area, let alone the whole country, but that there are five other mines in the San Gabriel Valley that are similar in size or larger than the project. Cemex is bound by the consent decree to mine not more than 69.2 million tons of sand and gravel over 20 years in order to produce a total of 56.1 million tons per year. The project is permitted to produce between 1.4 & 5 million tons each year.

The project is on the back side of the mountain, and only 177 acres or less will be disturbed. Cemex will replant native plants and take other steps to return the land to a natural setting once mining is completed.

The Environmental Impact Report and the Environmental Impact Statement (BLM) both concluded that there would not be any significant impact on traffic. Up to 600 trucks a day could potentially be visiting the mine, generating 1200 additional diesel truck trips on SR-14. Cemex has agreed to limit the number of trucks entering and leaving the site to 8 trucks during the morning peak period and 20 trucks in the evening peak traffic period.

The press release points out that without this mine, there would be the same number of trucks on the freeway, but they will be traveling longer distances from places like Palmdale (which has 8 active mines), and would drive right through Santa Clarita.

The agreement also calls for Cemex to establish an open space, air quality and traffic fund of about $1.5 million over an 11 year period to address residents’ environmental concerns. The money would be used towards parks and trails in nearby communities. Cemex has also committed to fund the construction of improvements at the project entrance along Soledad Canyon Road.

Approximately 9600 homes are located within a 5-mile radius of the proposed mine site, and the city has spent nearly $7 million over the last 19 years fighting the project.

Read the entire article

To provide to the Bureau of Land Management a mechanism to cancel certain mining leases for lands in the leases CA-20139 and CA-22901 and provide new leasing opportunities in the Soledad Canyon adjacent to the City of Santa Clarita, California, that reflect the historical mining levels, and for other purposes.

Mr. MCKEON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

To provide to the Bureau of Land Management a mechanism to cancel certain mining leases for lands in the leases CA-20139 and CA-22901 and provide new leasing opportunities in the Soledad Canyon adjacent to the City of Santa Clarita, California, that reflect the historical mining levels, and for other purposes.

Los Angeles Daily News

City residents bypassed in Cemex deal
 

Saturday, April 24, 2004 - It's amazing what a government agency can accomplish behind closed doors and without the benefit of public scrutiny.

Recently, the city of Santa Clarita was notified that an agreement, or consent decree, between the county of Los Angeles and the international cement giant Cemex, was reached on what is arguably one of the worst abuses of governmental power in local history.

The consent decree will allow for an unwanted and unneeded 56 million-ton mega-mining project in northern Los Angeles County. It also is the largest gravel mining project ever approved by the federal Bureau of Land Management. According to the BLM's approval, local agencies also must sign off on the project. But the consent decree gives short shrift to local government, our city and northern Los Angeles County's 400,000 residents.

The city of Santa Clarita didn't even have a seat at the table until recently, and it took an appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to do that. This ridiculous agreement gets rid of local pesky approvals and is unprecedented in its complete abandonment of state rights in favor of private mining interest and royalties. To say the least, the federal government has not acted as a good neighbor here.

The agreement, hashed out without any public input, abandons state environmental laws, outrageously prohibits specific county employees from ever actively criticizing the agreement, as well as reversing the county Board of Supervisors and the Regional Planning Commission's unanimous denials of this environmental disaster waiting to happen. It should be noted here that county Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich and Zev Yaroslavsky declined to support this agreement and we applaud them for this decision.

Since 2000, the 400,000 residents of the region have been fighting plans for this massive mining project on the grounds that it would have significant impacts on local traffic (it still adds an 18-wheel truck full of rocks to local freeways every two minutes), air quality, (it would still double the state's pollution limits) and use of massive amounts of precious groundwater (the project still does not include use of reclaimed or recycled water).

Residents and community leaders are working in tandem with U.S. Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who have submitted legislation to the House and Senate that would place limits on the amount of mining in Soledad Canyon to historical levels -- a limit that residents can live with.

To date, the city of Santa Clarita has spent well over $4 million on legal fees, acquisition of property, education, outreach, environmental work and the like, in an effort to prevent this project. A unanimous Santa Clarita City Council is joined by more than 100 organizations in an effort to head off this disaster waiting to happen.

Does money and power take precedence over state law and the will of local government? Can a federal judge ramrod through a project of this significance, even perverting the law in the process? Cemex Corp. may think it has won, but the process is far from complete.

If the proposed consent decree succeeds, it will become the "playbook" for mining companies tempted to sue their way around state environmental laws and regulations that are more protective than similar federal laws.

In other jurisdictions throughout California, local state review could be held hostage by the threat of litigation on any project that involves a federal action, despite the clear intent of Congress to provide states with authority to adopt more stringent environmental protections. What's your view? Let us know at www.santa-clarita.com Bob Kellar is mayor of the city of Santa Clarita.