BILL AIMS TO LIMIT MINING CEMEX COMPROMISE AWAITS AGREEMENT.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Legislation that would reduce the size and scope of a proposed sand and gravel mine in Canyon Country will be introduced next week to allow mining to continue, but at compromised levels.

U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, made the announcement Tuesday, saying the Soledad Canyon Mine Lease Cancellation Act, if passed, will reduce proposed operations by the Transit Mixed Concrete/Cemex Mine to ``historic levels.''

``The introduction of this bill is the first step in a long process that I am hoping will result in a mine that is significantly less than the size of the current proposal,'' McKeon said. ``I will continue to work with TMC/Cemex, the Bureau of Land Management and the House Resources Committee to craft a bill that is fair, but one that addresses the important health, environmental, and traffic concerns that deeply trouble out community.''

McKeon said he plans to continue to meet with officials from Cemex to reach a compromise to mine on other federal lands in his district, which stretches from Valencia to the Nevada border. The compromise also allows Cemex to continue operations, but to reduce its proposed plans from 56 million tons and to remain at the current levels of 6 million tons.

The bill has a chance to pass only if a compromise is reached by all parties, McKeon said.

Efforts by McKeon to pass legislation to reduce the size of the mine have not been successful so far, although the congressman met with Cemex's president last month to negotiate a compromise.

``Cemex said they were willing to talk about some different ideas,'' McKeon said, adding that the BLM, which owns the rights to the 460 acres of sand and gravel south of the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway between Soledad Canyon Road and Agua Dulce Canyon Road that are slated to be mined, also is willing to talk.

``I'll act as mediator to get the deal together,'' McKeon said. ``Hopefully, I'll get a positive message from BLM.''

A spokesman from Cemex was unavailable for comment Tuesday, a legal holiday.

City officials contend the mine would have a devastating impact on the north Los Angeles County area by polluting the air, choking area roads and freeways with traffic and threatening the Santa Clarita Valley's water supply.

Last month, the Santa Clarita City Council agreed to spend $1.27 million to buy 412 acres of undeveloped land not far from the proposed mine in Canyon County,.

Santa Clarita officials have spent about $2.5 million with mixed results over the past three years in an effort to derail plans for the mine and future housing developments along the freeway. While the county Board of Supervisors rejected a permit for the mine last year, a federal judge has indicated that he might reverse that decision.

City Council members believe McKeon's legislation will push their cause further.

Councilman Frank Ferry said many citywide projects have been placed on hold because of the city's fight to curb the magnitude of the mines.

``We are a large suburban area,'' he said. ``What was appropriate decades ago is not appropriate now. We know that our long-term plans are put at risk when we can't even mitigate air pollution.''

Andy Fried, president of Safe Action for the Environment, Inc., hailed the proposed legislation.

``It brings us to a point we had always wanted to be at which would allow us to reduce the size and scope of the mine, while reducing the impact in the community,'' Fried said. ``We feel what the congressman has proposed is a win-win situation.''

The dispute over the mine began a decade ago, when the federal government awarded two 10-year contracts to Transit Mixed Concrete to mine the rich aggregate deposits in Canyon Country in return for royalty payments of $28 million. Azusa-based TMC later was purchased by Cemex, a Mexican firm. Cemex officials have said their contract with the federal BLM gives the company the right to mine 576 million tons of aggregate from he Soledad Canyon hillside, despite opposition from Santa Clarita leaders and county officials.

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, says a proposal would reduce the scope of local mining.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer