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8 • THE <strong>Reader</strong><br />
Canyon Country<br />
Cemex Bill calls for re-opening of permitting process<br />
Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R- Santa<br />
Clarita, introduced AB 1986, which<br />
would re-open the permitting process<br />
of CEMEX’s proposed mega-mine.<br />
CEMEX’s mega mine would be larger than<br />
Irwindale and would wreak havoc on our environment<br />
and quality of life,” stated Wilk.<br />
“Our children and seniors won’t be able to<br />
breath, our roads will be choked daily with<br />
an additional 1,200 18-wheelers and the<br />
mega-mine will soak up our most precious<br />
resource, water. I’m committed to killing this<br />
project.”<br />
In 1990, the Bureau of Land Management<br />
(BLM) issued two 10-year contracts to mine<br />
56-million tons of aggregate from a site near<br />
Soledad Canyon Road and the 14 Freeway.<br />
Through the years there have been a number<br />
of owners, but the current owner is CEMEX.<br />
Last August, under pressure from Rep.<br />
Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, and California’s<br />
two U.S. Senators, the BLM announced it had<br />
canceled CEMEX’s Soledad Canyon mining<br />
contracts. However, CEMEX has appealed<br />
that decision and it could take as long as two<br />
years to get a final adjudication.<br />
Although a federal issue, there is a role for<br />
the state to play in the permitting process of<br />
the mega mine. Back in 1991, CEMEX’s predecessor-in-interest<br />
(Transit Mix Concrete)<br />
filed an application with the California State<br />
Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for<br />
a water appropriation permit. The application<br />
requested 322 acre-feet of water per<br />
year from the Santa Clara River for use related<br />
to mining and industrial operations.<br />
Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R- Santa Clarita, introduced AB 1986, which would re-open the permitting process<br />
of CeMeX’s proposed mega-mine.<br />
Under current law, the administrative<br />
process allows for a protest period and the<br />
SWRCB is required to hold a hearing as long<br />
as a protest remains unresolved or there is a<br />
disputed material fact.<br />
No hearing was held and the SWRCB has<br />
essentially suspended activity on the application,<br />
although the status of the application<br />
is still considered active.<br />
Existing law requires the publication of a<br />
notice of application to appropriate water<br />
and requires protest to be filed within a certain<br />
period of time after publication of a notice<br />
of application.<br />
AB 1986 would amend the water code to<br />
require the publication of a new notice of application<br />
if the SWRCB has not rendered a<br />
final determination on an application within<br />
20 years from its original filing date. The<br />
new notice would re-open the protest period<br />
and any other administrative processes, as if<br />
it were being undertaken for the first time.<br />
Wilk declared, “I’m hopeful that our community<br />
will prevail at the federal level to kill<br />
this ill-conceived project. AB 1986 is a ‘Plan<br />
B’ that would allow us to make the case with<br />
state regulators on why this mega mine doesn’t<br />
work in our community.”<br />
<strong>March</strong> <strong>2016</strong><br />
Alleged car thief Josue hernandez was found stuck<br />
in a storm drain in the 1800 block of Walnut Springs<br />
Avenue, after being chased by an off-duty Ventura<br />
County sheriff's deputy. hernandez was arrested<br />
after being extricated by firefighters.<br />
Alleged Canyon<br />
Country car thief<br />
found in storm drain<br />
Aman who fled from a deputy in Canyon<br />
Country after allegedly trying to steal<br />
a car was found stuck in a storm drain<br />
and later arrested according to Lt. Derek<br />
Sabatini with the Santa Clarita Sheriff’s Station.<br />
The alleged thief was spotted by an offduty<br />
Ventura County sheriff's deputy attempting<br />
to steal a vehicle in the 1800 block<br />
of Goodvale Road, Sabatini Said.<br />
The man fled and the deputy chased after<br />
him, only to find him stuck in a storm drain<br />
in the 2700 block of Walnut Springs Avenue.<br />
The suspect, identified as Josue Hernandez,<br />
was extricated out of the drain by firefighters<br />
and then arrested.