City Gets a Say in Mine Plan

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that the city of Santa Clarita may intervene in a lawsuit that could determine the fate of the controversial Soledad Canyon gravel mining project.

The city is one of the staunchest opponents of the proposed mine, which over the years would produce 56.1 million tons of sand and gravel in a semirural area just east of the city limits.

The ruling gives Santa Clarita greater say in a proposed settlement of the suit, including the right to appeal the upcoming ruling of U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian.

The judge is scheduled to decide March 15 on a consent decree worked out among the project developer, Los Angeles County and the federal government, which granted Cemex the mineral rights to the property.

The developer, Mexican concrete giant Cemex Inc., sued the county in federal court after the Board of Supervisors blocked the project in February 2002. Supervisors cited concerns about traffic and other environmental effects, but Cemex argued that the county was abusing the planning process.

If the judge accepts a consent decree between the parties, the suit would technically be settled.

Tevrizian, who originally denied the city’s request to intervene, must now allow the city to have its say on the matter.

“Now we can’t be ignored,” City Atty. Carl Newton said.

Newton said he planned to ask the judge this week to postpone the March 15 hearing to give the city time to prepare its case. The terms of the consent decree, released this week, were ridiculed by Santa Clarita officials for not sufficiently protecting the environment.

“The consent decree ignores all of the environmental mitigation measures that were presented to the county that would have made this project much more environmentally friendly,” Newton said. “This includes water use ... dust and noise produced by the project, air pollution issues and traffic issues.”

But Cemex attorney Kerry Shapiro said the decree represents a true compromise, noting that the company dropped its claim for unspecified monetary damages.

In a prepared statement, company spokesman Brian Mastin said the deal “benefits all the parties, and, especially, the people of Los Angeles County.”

“The county needs new sources of construction materials and it needs them developed in an environmentally responsible way. This agreement aims to do both,” he said.

In the agreement, Cemex promised to address a number of environmental concerns that opponents have raised over the years. The company agreed to limited hours of operation, a widening of the two-lane road leading to the site, a halt to activity during serious smog alerts, establishment of a $1.5-million environmental improvement fund and regular review by an independent monitor and a community advisory committee.

The county, in turn, promised not to interfere further with the project unless Cemex violated the agreement.

Opponents are attacking the project on other fronts, as well.