BUREAU TO REVIEW MINE SITE TOAD DISCOVERY HALTS PLANS.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA - The federal government agreed Friday to study the impacts of the Transit Mixed Concrete mining plan on the rare southwestern arroyo toad, discovered recently along the banks of the upper Santa Clara River Santa Clara River may refer to:
City and county officials, along with U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, hailed the decision by the federal Bureau of Land Management, but cautioned that far more extensive surveys were needed to protect the environment of the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. . ``It is a good first step,'' said Deputy City Manager Rick Putnam. ``Not only do we hope for more, we expect more.'' Putnam said attorneys for the BLM BLM n abbr (US) (= Bureau of Land Management) → les domaines told the city's lawyers Friday morning that the agency would make a new analysis of the overall environmental impact of the 460-acre, 56 million-ton gravel mine in Soledad Canyon, not just the mine's effect on the endangered arroyo toad. ``There is obviously some lack of communication between the agencies,'' Putnam said. ``We're confident they'll look at the whole project, as we've asked.'' City officials have filed two lawsuits against the Department of the Interior over the mine, claiming that the BLM's approval of the mine violates both the Endangered Species Act The federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) (16 U.S.C.A. §§ 1531 et seq.) was enacted to protect animal and plant species from extinction by preserving the ecosystems in which they survive and by providing programs for their conservation. and federal administrative law administrative law, law governing the powers and processes of administrative agencies. The term is sometimes used also of law (i.e., rules, regulations) developed by agencies in the course of their operation. . The mine is proposed south of the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. between Soledad Canyon and Agua Dulce Canyon roads, ``This action proves we are right and have been all along,'' said Stacy Miller, Santa Clarita's intergovernmental affairs officer. ``This solidifies the fact that there is merit to this lawsuit.'' City officials say the mine's environmental studies did not adequately survey for the toads and five other endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. , nor contain measures that would sufficiently protect them. Representatives for TMC TMC Technology Marketing Corporation (Norwalk, Connecticut) TMC Texas Medical Center (Houston, TX) TMC Traffic Message Channel TMC The Movie Channel TMC Traffic Management Center did not return phone calls Friday, but have said that the mine would not harm the environment or any endangered species. BLM spokeswoman Jan Bedrosian said she would not comment on the settlement negotiations that took place Friday, adding that the agency has only agreed to reconsider the impact the mine could have on the toad. Bedrosian said the BLM's approval of the mine 11 months ago after a 10-year review process stands. The review and supplemental analysis will take about a month to complete, according to BLM State Director Mike Pool. Using that study, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service will determine whether the project would ``jeopardize the continued existence of the arroyo toad.'' The agencies have about four months to make that ruling, Pool said. ``This new information identifying tadpoles clearly needs to be evaluated,'' Pool said. ``Until we receive a formal biological opinion from FWS, it would be premature to speculate what effect this discovery will have on the project.'' A week ago, Supervisor Michael Antonovich, called on the BLM to reconsider its approval of the project and redo To reverse an undo operation. See undo. all of the project's environmental studies, saying the documents were inadequate and incomplete. ``This action does not go far enough,'' said Conal McNamara, a deputy for Antonovich. ``There is clearly a big gap in the environmental studies that warrants reconsideration.'' On Thursday, McKeon echoed Antonovich's call. ``In this case, their can be little dispute that this massive mining project at least poses a potential threat to an endangered species,'' McKeon said. A city biologist, Nancy Sandburg, found the tadpoles in a pond south of Soledad Canyon Road on May 25 - the first discovery of the species in the upper Santa Clara River. The pond is on the project site but outside of the area that Azusa-based TMC plans to mine. Federal officials confirmed the presence of the two- or three-inch light greenish-gray or tan toads with warty wart n. 1. a. A hard rough lump growing on the skin, caused by infection with certain viruses and occurring typically on the hands or feet. b. A similar growth or protuberance, as on a plant. 2. skin and dark spots last week on a site tour, Bedrosian said. Federal officials also discovered a population of three-spined stickleback stickleback, common name for members of the family Gasterosteidae, small fishes, widely distributed in both fresh- and saltwaters of the Northern Hemisphere. Sticklebacks range from 1 1-2 to 4 in. (3. fish, which also are an endangered species, while looking for the toads, Miller said. ``It really shows that all of the biological data needs to be reanalyzed,'' Miller said. ``The assessments are clearly flawed.'' |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion