OPPONENT BLASTS MINING PLAN; FORMER OWNER SAYS CONTRACTOR TAKING WRONG APPROACH.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

Once a competitor for the contract to mine federally-owned minerals from Soledad Canyon, Curtis Sand & Gravel now stands as an opponent to the contractor, Transit Mixed Concrete, and its massive mining proposal.

Ben Curtis - whose family has owned the mining site for decades, but lost its mineral rights to the federal Bureau of Land Management 14 years ago - was among the nearly 20 people who testified Wednesday morning against TMC's proposal.

The testimony was before the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission, where opponents criticized the blasting plans, use of mining technology and traffic study that are included in the first draft environmental impact report for the TMC project.

``When it comes to that pit, I'm an expert on it,'' Curtis told the commissioners. ``I know what can be mined there and how it can be mined.''

Curtis Sand & Gravel, based in Canyon Country, had mined the Soledad Canyon project site for 23 years before the federal government took its mineral rights by eminent domain in the mid-1980s. Curtis later lost the mining contract to TMC after competitive bidding.

Curtis testified to the Planning Commission that TMC's proposal was ``faulty at best,'' claiming the company would not utilize the best available technology that would eliminate dynamite blasting from the mining process and reduce environmental impacts.

According to Curtis, his company stopped blasting in Soledad Canyon during its last five years of operations there, and instead used a state-of-the-art $1.2 million bulldozer to loosen rocks needed for sand and gravel.

The 3-1/2-hour hearing stood out from those in recent months because TMC company representatives presented rebuttals to those opposing the project, including residents, local environmental groups, elected officials, school boards and town and city councils.

TMC Operations Manager Tom Powell and Thom Ryan of the Irvine-based Chambers Group, which produced the environmental impact report, also refuted Curtis' claims that TMC didn't need to blast in Soledad Canyon.

``Blasting is a necessary and best available technology,'' Powell told the commissioners, noting that he based his conclusion on studies conducted at the site. He added, ``In fact, our plans would use one-tenth of the blasting power that previously was used in mining at that site.''

TMC spokesman Brian Mastin said the use of explosives remains an acceptable and appropriate practice within the mining industry and meets government standards.

TMC officials for the most part used their rebuttal period Wednesday to reassure planners that the Soledad Canyon mining project would meet all federal and local regulations to protect occupational and residential health, traffic, air and water quality, but also revealed additional measures they would take to mitigate environmental impacts.

Dust levels would be cut by 33 percent through the use of special conveyor belts that would transport mined materials over the ridge line, from the north face of Soledad Canyon to the south side, said Powell. The conveyor belts would eliminate a number of large trucks from the mining site that would have kicked up dust while hauling blasted materials around the canyon, he said.

Powell also noted that the Santa Clara River would be protected from contamination, because water used in the mining process would not be discharged into the river. Instead, workers would recycle and process the water with special equipment on site, he said.

In the event of droughts, the mining project would have a reserve supply of water on hand to avoid draining local resources, he added.

The Planning Commission on Wednesday closed the public testimony portion of the hearing, but agreed to allow TMC officials to offer further rebuttals to oral and written testimony when the hearing continues Dec. 1. The public's written testimony, in support or opposition to the project, will continue to be accepted until Nov. 15.

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Photo: (color) Ben Curtis speaks to the county Regional Planning Commission on Wednesday about his opposition to the mining plan.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News