FOES FEAR MINES MAY MULTIPLY GRAVEL PROJECT MAY COME TO CANYON LAND.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - City and Los Angeles County officials fear federal approval of a Soledad Canyon gravel mining project could pave the way for another massive mining project in the same area.

Irwindale-based Calmat Co. wants to mine nearly 600 acres along Agua Dulce and Sand Canyon roads for the raw materials used to make concrete. The proposed mine would be a few miles east of the 40-acre Transit Mixed Concrete mine, which is south of the Antelope Valley Freeway along Soledad Canyon Road.

``Even if you might - and I stress might - be able to modify the TMC project to the point where you could mitigate and reduce the environmental toxins, you could not reduce below significance the effect when you put them both together,'' said Diane Terito, the president of the Agua Dulce Town Council.

Despite testimony from Santa Clarita city officials and dozens of agencies and local organizations that the TMC mine will harm the Santa Clara River and degrade air quality, the Bureau of Land Management approved the project earlier this month, ruling that conditions set on the operation mean the mine poses no significant threat to the quality of life in the valley.

Transit Mixed Concrete will pay the federal government $28 million for the right to mine the land.

Calmat officials have not filed a formal project proposal with the federal government, said Jim Kenna, a BLM field manager in the Palm Springs office.

``There is no compelling interest at this point that would lead the BLM to issue another mining contract,'' Kenna said. ``We're generally not interested in issuing multiple permits for mining in the same location.''

Kenna declined to rule out the possibility of another mine in Soledad Canyon in the future, and this has opponents worried.

``We view the TMC mine as a Trojan horse,'' Terito said. ``Once we let it in, the back of the horse will open up and other mining projects will spill out.''

Representatives from Calmat have attended the county and federal hearings on the TMC mine, said Millie J. Jones, a deputy for Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.

``The approval of the TMC mine sets a bad precedent,'' Jones said. ``And Calmat is waiting in the wings.''

Calmat's application for a mining permit from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is currently inactive, Jones said.

``They are just waiting to see how the approval process for TMC mine plays out before they reactivate their application,'' said Maria Rountree, Santa Clarita's intergovernmental affairs specialist.

Calmat officials did not return phone calls Tuesday.

The Transit Mixed Concrete project is necessary because without a new source of sand and gravel, construction in the San Fernando Valley will grind to a standstill, said Brian Mastin, the environmental affairs manager for TMC, which is a division of Houston-based Southdown Inc.

``This is an environmentally safe project,'' Mastin said. ``We will be a good neighbor in Santa Clarita.''

The BLM also controls the mining rights in the Calmat-owned land, and may have final jurisdiction over both mining proposals.

In December, the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission turned down Transit Mixed Concrete's request for a mining permit. An appeal of that decision will be considered by the board of supervisors this fall, Jones said.

County officials will meet next week to discuss the TMC project, and whether county attorneys think the federal decision would overrule a county denial.

Santa Clarita City Council members Laurene Weste and Bob Kellar are scheduled to speak to the Agua Dulce Town Council about the Transit Mining project tonight and answer questions.

CAPTION(S):

map