Mine Firm Takes Santa Clarita to Court

A company that plans to dig a massive sand and gravel mine in Soledad Canyon filed a lawsuit Thursday that accuses Santa Clarita of withholding financial information in its fight against the project.

The city has spent $1.5 million in legal, public relations and administrative costs to block the mine, city spokesman Jason Smisko said.

But Mexico-based Cemex, parent company of mine operator Transit Mixed Concrete, contends that the figure is much higher, although its suit does not specify a number.

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that the city has turned over only some of the public records documenting its spending, and the legal action seeks the release of more.

“The public has the right to know how much they’re spending on this,” Cemex spokesman Brian Mastin said.

Smisko said the city has released every document it is required to by law. “They’re just trying to harass us,” he said.

The mine would extract 78 million tons of gravel and sand from federal lands just east of Santa Clarita. It has been approved by the federal government, but still requires a mining permit from the county Board of Supervisors.

The board is scheduled to consider the issue Feb. 26. Santa Clarita officials and residents say the mine would damage the environment and threaten endangered species. The city has paid to bus hundreds of angry mine opponents to previous supervisors’ meetings.

Cemex denies that the mine would hurt the environment. Its suit also seeks city documents about the endangered species, including the unarmored threespine stickleback fish and the arroyo toad.

Last month, Santa Clarita sued the U.S. Department of the Interior, claiming that the agency failed to protect the endangered species. Another Cemex suit filed in U.S. District Court alleges that county officials have delayed the project in violation of federal law.

A spokesman for Supervisor Mike Antonovich, a leading foe, said Friday that the lawsuit will probably force the board to postpone its consideration of the mine.