Activists Want Quarry Shut; Decision Delayed

A divided City Council this week delayed a decision on whether to shut down the Azusa Rock quarry after a lively public hearing in which environmental activists accused quarry owners of plundering two mountains bordering the Angeles National Forest.

Most of the 120 people at the hearing Monday applauded and whooped as local residents and environmental activists called for the Azusa Rock quarry to be closed, saying it pollutes the air and the San Gabriel River.

Quarry spokesman G. Thomas Davis testified that the quarry has not been cited by the South Coast Air Quality Management District for dust since 1986 and that it regularly waters the quarry grounds to keep dirt out of the air. He said that the Azusa Planning Commission found the company in compliance with city permit requirements and that quarry owners quickly fixed a few minor violations.

Council members delayed until March a vote on whether to revoke the permit that allows the quarry, in the northwest corner of the city at 3901 Fish Canyon Road, to operate. City Atty. Henry Barbosa said he needed more time to examine whether the city has that power.

The council, however, voted 3 to 2 against supporting a Planning Commission decision to allow the quarry to remain open.

In voting against the motion, Councilmen John Dangleis and Anthony Naranjo said there was no evidence that Azusa Rock violated city permit laws. Mayor Eugene F. Moses said he favors a referendum to let voters decide the issue.

Attorneys for Azusa Rock have said they may sue if the city shuts down the quarry.

All but three of the 16 people testifying before the council urged the city to shut down the quarry.

“There are millions of dust particles. No one has done anything about it,” said Jim McJunkin of Azusa, spokesman for Save the Foothills, a group formed to fight the quarry. “There are a lot of sick people in this town due to the dust.” McJunkin’s appeal of the Dec. 16 Planning Commission decision prompted the hearing.

“They are raping down the mountain,” said Darleen Garafalo, who said she is concerned about the effect of dust on Azusa children.

The dust also is polluting the San Gabriel River, said Carol Montano, a director of the San Gabriel Valley Water District. She said a 1989 water district report found excessive pollution of the San Gabriel River by airborne dust from the quarry.

Maureen Bowen of La Puente said the quarry has caused rock slides that have blocked access to Fish Canyon. “When I see that huge scar, I wonder if Azusa really needs the money,” she said.

Rick Cranford, a construction worker, defended the quarry, saying that the area is the rock capital of California and that its materials help build much of Los Angeles. He said closing the quarry would cost many jobs in the building industry.

Azusa Rock operates one of five quarries in the city. The quarries provide $1.1 million of the city’s $18-million General Fund through a tax charged for each ton of rock mined and processed.