NEW TACK FOR MINE OPPOSERS COAST-DRILLING CASE CITED.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - City officials are hopeful that a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will turn the tide in the federal court battle over a massive sand-and-gravel mine planned in Canyon Country.

The three-judge appellate panel upheld a lower court decision last month that the state has the right to stop the federal government from permitting additional oil drilling off the California coast because of the damage it would cause to the coastal environment.

Attorneys for Santa Clarita contend that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors likewise has the right to stop the 56.1 million ton sand-and- gravel mine, even though the federal Bureau of Land Management had approved the mine nearly 18 months ago.

``We're very encouraged by the 9th Circuit's decision and think it sheds important light on the Cemex case,'' said Deborah Prosser, an attorney with Burke Williams & Sorensen, the city attorney's firm.

Cemex spokesman Brian Mastin said he was unfamiliar with the oil drilling case and declined to comment on its potential implications on the company's lawsuit, which contends the Board of Supervisors inappropriately used the years-long environmental-review process as a tool to delay and interfere with the federal government's approval of the mining plan.

``This is America, so the city is entitled to its opinion,'' Mastin said.

Cemex will pay the federal Bureau of Land Management $28 million for the right to mine 460 acres south of the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway in between Soledad Canyon Road and Agua Dulce Canyon Road.

In the dispute over the off-shore drilling, California challenged the federal government's decision to extend the leases that permit oil drilling - under the state Coastal Zone Conservation Act.

Although the Bush administration asserted that the federal Coastal Zone Management pre-empted the state act, the appellate court ruled in favor of the state and found that federal decisions regarding state mineral resources are subject to review under state law.

Attorneys for the county contend that the supervisors rejected Cemex's application for a surface mining permit because the mining company failed to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act and the state Surface Mining and Reclamation Act. ``The oil drilling case is extremely important by analogy and strongly supports the county's position,'' Prosser said.

Santa Clarita officials have spent almost $2 million fighting the massive mine, which they contend will have a devastating impact on north Los Angeles County, resulting in air pollution, traffic and a threat to the local water supply.

City officials have also renewed their call for Attorney General Bill Lockyer to seek to intervene in the federal court case on behalf of the county.

``This case shows California can take a strong proactive role and be successful,'' Prosser said.

U.S. District Court Judge Dickran Tevrizian, the trial court judge, will be bound by the appellate ruling, and Prosser said she hoped it would influence future rulings.

Tevrizian has repeatedly ruled against the county and Santa Clarita, and he has indicated his sympathy for Cemex's arguments. In addition, the judge allowed the federal government to intervene in the case on behalf of Cemex in order to defend the two 10-year contracts awarded to the company and assert the supremacy of federal law.

``It's very encouraging, especially after all the setbacks,'' Prosser said.