“This proposed legislation is our last chance to protect the Santa Clarita Valley from large-scale mining, said a City official. It’s imperative for our community that we pass the bill, and the high level of support from local and statewide organizations across a spectrum of interests reflects the need and urgency,” she added.
Organizations supporting S. 759 include:
Clean Air Advocates
- Breathe California of Los Angeles County
- Clean Air Now
- Coalition for Clean Air
Environmental Organizations
- Planning & Conservation League
- The Sierra Club
- Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
- SCV Green
- Endangered Habitats League
- Friends of the Santa Clara River
- Rivers and Mountains Conservancy
- Safe Action for the Environment (SAFE)
- Los Angeles Conservation Corps
- San Fernando Valley Audubon Society
Business Groups
- California Association of Realtors
- Valley Industry and Commerce Association
- Valley Industry Association
- Greater San Fernando Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce
- Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce
Local Government & Public Agencies
- City of Glendale
- City of Palmdale
- City of Bellflower
- City of Santa Clarita
- Castaic Lake Water Agency
- Newhall County Water District
Political Organizations
- Los Angeles County Democratic Party
- Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley
- Santa Clarita Valley Congress of Republicans
- Democratic Club of the Santa Clarita Valley
- Santa Clarita Valley Fair Elections Committee
Education Interests
- Santa Clarita Valley Community College District
- William S. Hart Union High School District
- Castaic Union School District
- Newhall School District
- Sulphur Springs School District
In 1990, CEMEX was issued two ten-year, consecutive contracts from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to mine 56 million tons of sand and gravel from a site in Soledad Canyon. After the City of Santa Clarita objected to the contracts, and the community overwhelmingly opposed the prospect of mining, the dispute ensued for nearly a decade, until the parties involved came to a mutually beneficial solution. That solution is S. 759.
S. 759 would immediately cancel CEMEX’s mining contracts in Soledad Canyon, and prohibit future mining at the site of the contracts. The legislation then instructs the Secretary of the Interior to sell federal lands near Victorville, which are currently on the Bureau of Land Management’s “disposal list”, and use the proceeds to compensate CEMEX at fair market value for its investment. Revenues from the land sales will also be used to acquire and protect environmentally sensitive lands in the region.
It is anticipated that S. 759 will be considered in Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in October or November this year.
For more information on S. 759, visit www.santa-clarita.com/soledadmining.