CITY: MINE FIGHT NOT OVER OFFICIALS PLAN NEXT ROUND AGAINST TMC PROJECT.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - In what's turning out to be this city's version of the never-ending story, opponents of a planned Soledad Canyon mine are gearing up for the next round in their fight to downsize the project.

City officials are planning several new offensives against the mine in the wake of last week's decision by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to reject Transit Mixed Concrete's plans to mine 56.1 million tons of sand and gravel from 460 acres in Soledad Canyon, and send the project back for additional study.

``I've never seen this community pull together this way before,'' said Don Williams, a city planner who has helped direct the nine-month-long fight. ``The bad news is that there is still a project on the table.''

The supervisors directed the county's Planning Department to analyze the proposals made by the opponents of the mine, and report whether they reduce the impact of the mine on the Santa Clarita Valley's environment.

City officials want the size and scope of the mine reduced. As proposed, they contend the mine would choke area freeways with traffic, pollute the air, harm the Santa Clara River, threaten the local water supply, imperil the local economy and lower property values across the city.

However, officials from Azusa-based TMC say contracts with the federal Bureau of Land Management obligate them to mine 56.1 million tons of sand and gravel. TMC will pay the BLM $28 million for the right to mine the 460 acres south of the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway and between Agua Dulce Canyon and Soledad Canyon roads.

The mine will not harm the Santa Clarita Valley and will help avert a looming shortage of sand and gravel in Southern California that could cause construction and public works projects to grind to a halt, said Brian Mastin, TMC's environmental affairs manager.

Two city-sponsored studies found there is no such crisis on the horizon.

Regardless of the supervisors' decision, the dispute could land in court, city and county officials said.

Santa Clarita has already appealed the BLM's approval of the mine, along with nearly 20 other organizations and individuals. City officials have also sued the BLM, claiming the approval process for the proposed mine was flawed and that the project violates the Endangered Species Act.

Because of a 1916 federal law, the supervisors only have the authority to impose ``reasonable'' environmental protections on the mine. TMC officials dispute city and county officials' contention that the county has the authority to scale down the mine because of environmental concerns.

Before the supervisors review the issue again in June, city officials plan to work more closely with county planners to analyze environmental concerns.

Deputy City Manager Rick Putnam has criticized the county planning staff for imposing ``weak'' conditions of approval on the mine, and for not including the city's voluminous criticism of the gravel pit in the final Environmental Impact Report.

City officials also plan a more complete study of the effectiveness of building a rail line to reduce truck trips during the next two months, and to work more closely with the Sulphur Springs and William S. Hart Union High school districts.

``It is not over until it is over,'' Williams said. ``And this is a long way from being over.''