MINE PLAN JOLTS LEADERS PERMITS FILED 5 YEARS AGO BY ROCK FIRM.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - An Arizona-based company is planning to mine rock on land directly across from the proposed Cemex Inc. quarry on Soledad Canyon Road, angering community leaders who said they only learned about the project this week, even though permits were filed five years ago.

In notices distributed to some residents in Acton by the the U.S. Forest Service's local station, the project includes mining 150,000 tons per year of anorthosite ore, a rock mineral that is used to bind concrete for building.

But the notices were not sent to the Acton or Agua Dulce town councils or the city of Santa Clarita, yet ask those residents to provide comments in the following two weeks.

``Neither town council was appropriately notified,'' said Andy Fried, president of the Agua Dulce Town Council.

Fried said he felt ``anger at the process. This has been hanging around the Forest Service offices both in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., for five years. Then to give inadequate inadequate notice and a short response time just adds insult to injury.''

Mining company Pacific Industrial Minerals also is proposing to build a bridge across the Santa Clara River to access mining claims out of Bear Canyon, within the Angeles National Forest, according to the notice.

The project site is about 10 miles east of Santa Clarita, and seven miles from Acton. The quarry could generate as many as 25 truckloads per day, operating five days a week, according to the letter, which was not written on official Forest Service letterhead.

Residents are asked to submit comments on the proposed project by May 17 - not enough time, community leaders said, because little is known about the project.

``In light of the fact that the Cemex mining project has taken front and center, we are absolutely appalled that the Forest Service did not let us know about this project, having known about it for the last five years,'' said Gail Ortiz, spokeswoman for the city of Santa Clarita. ``More importantly, they did not let the community know. This is not how government is supposed to work. We are here to protect and serve the community, not special mining interests.''

The two town councils learned of the mine this week from forest officials, though neither was directly contacted. Both communities sent letters to officials requesting a continuance to understand how the mine would affect surface and ground water, increase airborne particulates and traffic, and other environmental issues.

``It is impossible for the Agua Dulce Town Council or any other entity on your distribution list to first identify the potential physical, financial and environmental impacts of this proposed project without either the actual mining plan, an environmental impact report, or other substantive data on which to base these comments,'' Fried wrote to forest officials this week.

Martin Esparza, a minerals assistant with the Los Angeles River Rangers District who included his name at the bottom of the letter, could not be reached Thursday for comment.

``The other problem we have with it is that the county has not been too aware of it either,'' Fried said.

A permit for surface mining was filed in May 2000 by an IMF LLC, planning officials said Thursday.

But county officials said little more is known about the proposed project.

Claims to minerals in the Angeles National Forest are not uncommon.

About 9.2 million acres of public land in the West has been claimed under the 1872 Mining Law, which is still active in the United States, according to researchers for the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C.

For 84 cents an acre, more than 28,000 companies and individuals have gained control of metals and minerals on these public lands, the group has said.

Pacific Industrial Minerals, believed to be based in Arizona, could not be contacted.

Neither the Arizona Mining Association nor the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources had such a company listed.

``As far as I know, this information came to the attention of the people of Santa Clarita just a few days ago,'' said Bob Hauter, field deputy for Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. ``We will definitely support the request for a continuance. Obviously, we want to get all the information.''

In addition, U.S. Rep. Howard K. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita, was notified and asked to intervene to request more time for public comments.

``We don't know a lot, which is a problem,'' said Scott Wilk, district director for McKeon. ``We're not saying it's a good mine or bad mine. But there is a lack of communication.''

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com