KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
Congresswoman Katie Hill sent a letter on Monday to Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt requesting assistance in expediting the decision to terminate the contract pertaining to the CEMEX mining project.
The mining project was brought forward by the building materials company CEMEX, who proposed a 56 million net ton sand and gravel mine in Soledad Canyon which would encompass 490 acres.
“The CEMEX mine has long troubled this community. Every year the City of Santa Clarita outlines its list of priorities and every year, resolution on this issue is at the top of the list. Sending this letter to Secretary Bernhardt of the Department of the Interior gets us one step closer to that goal.” Hill said. “While this letter is just the start of my work on this issue, I am committed to doing everything I can to end this dispute and deliver for the people of Santa Clarita.”
Local representatives from the City of Santa Clarita have long opposed the proposal, which was dealt its first major blow following the first government shutdown under President Trump in January 2018.
When President Trump signed the FY18 Omnibus Appropriations bill in March 2018, former representative Steve Knight and Senator Dianne Feinstein worked together to include language in that bill which would permanently remove mineral mining rights for the site and would prohibit any mining operations for any future contract, while existing contracts remained under review by the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA).
“The City deeply appreciates that Representative Hill and her office are committed to working toward a permanent resolution to this almost three-decades-old issue,” said Santa Clarita Mayor Marsha McLean. “We look forward to working in close partnership with Rep. Hill to ensure we are putting our community first.”
The rights to the mine were originally issued in 1990 by the Bureau of Land Management, however after reports were released in 1999 outlining the potential environmental impacts on the air and water in Santa Clarita, city officials dug in to fight against the implementation of the project.
“The City of Santa Clarita is my hometown. It is one of the busiest metropolitan suburbs in the country, and home to some of the hardest working and most passionate individuals I have ever met,” wrote Hill. “They deserve answers and they deserve action.”
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Thx. Katie Hill, I knew I voted for the right person!! Please stop building also!! To many homes.
I look forward to the day that CEMEX is no longer a threat to our community. The people that live along Hwy 14 in the northernmost area of Santa Clarita will be threatened with health issues (pulmonary) should CEMEX break ground. And, the Santa Clara River continues to flow in this area where we have multiple endngered species that will also suffer, and most probably die as a result of the by-products, such as arsenic, of mining. We have Unarmored Three Spine Sticklebacks, Western Pond Turtles, and multiple endangered bird species in the area, including eagles and condors. And, this exact spot is the animal corridor between the Angeles National Forest and the Sierra Pelona mountains. Bringing a mine into this area with pollution, major traffic additions, and noise pollution is not what the citizens of Santa Clarita deserve/ Thank you to Katie Hill for moving against CEMEX. The citizens and the city of Santa Clarita have been trying to DUMP CEMEX for about 25 years. Enough is enough. We what them out of our city.