COUNTY SUED FOR MINE OK CITY LEADERS CLAIM EIR WASN'T UPDATED.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Santa Clarita has filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County claiming that county officials failed to analyze properly the environmental impacts of the massive sand and gravel mine proposed for Soledad Canyon.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, follows the county Board of Supervisor's decision in June to approve a surface-mining permit to allow cement giant Cemex Inc. to mine up to 56 million tons of sand and gravel in the area.

``The county failed to analyze the effect of the project on endangered species and biological habitats in the area,'' Santa Clarita City Attorney Carl Newton said Tuesday. ``They failed to use the best scientific tools possible to study all the effects.''

In addition, Newton said, the county did not include new information culled from outside research into the environmental impact report.

``The county failed to review the impacts of traffic circulation in the area, and failed to recirculate the environmental impact report upon receiving the new information,'' Newton said. ``They failed to supplement the draft environmental impact report with changes.''

In June, county supervisors voted 3-2 to approve the permits, which had been submitted two years earlier by Cemex.

Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich and Zev Yaroslavsky dissented. The board initially had rejected the plan but yielded when Cemex sued. The June vote came under terms of a court-approved consent decree.

A separate appeal has been filed with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the decree and the environmental impact report, which the city believes violates the California Environmental Quality Act, federal Clean Water and Air acts, and the National Environmental Policy Act.

And in January, the state Department of Fish and Game also asked that the environmental impact report be recirculated because of new information about the discovery of an endangered toad living on the site to be mined.

Richard Weiss, an assistant attorney in the county counsel's office, said Tuesday he hasn't had a chance to review the lawsuit. The county has not yet been served.

``It's not a surprise,'' he said of the lawsuit, which city officials had indicated they would file.

Representatives from Cemex Inc., which is also named in the lawsuit, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, has been holding negotiations with representatives from Santa Clarita, Cemex and the Bureau of Land Management, hoping to reduce the size of the quarry by offering the company the opportunity to mine on other federal land in his district.

The BLM owns the rights to the 460 acres of sand and gravel south of the Antelope Valley Freeway between Soledad Canyon Road and Agua Dulce Canyon Road.

The compromise would allow Cemex to continue operations but reduce its plans from 56 million tons to ``historic lower levels,'' or about 5 million or 6 million tons, McKeon has said.

A spokesman from McKeon's office said Tuesday the congressman is aware of the lawsuit, and is hopeful it will not damage the ongoing talks between all parties.

Santa Clarita City Attorney Newton agreed.

``The city alone is bringing this action,'' Newton said. ``We've made it clear to Cemex and to the congressman that the city is required to protect its legal position, even as it moves forward with the talks. We can't give up an opportunity to challenge an action we think is wrong on the part of the county.''

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com