SOLEDAD MINING PERMIT DENIED AGAIN FIRM VOWS TO APPEAL PLANNING BOARD VOTE TO COUNTY SUPERVISORS.

Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission formally rejected the Transit Mixed Concrete's mining proposal for Soledad Canyon on Wednesday, but the proponents vowed to appeal.

At the motion of Commissioner George Pederson of Santa Clarita, commissioners voted unanimously for the second time to deny the controversial 20-year project. The commissioners voted 5-0 on Dec. 1 to direct county planning staffers to draw up grounds for denial, based on environmental and health concerns.

A 4-0 vote in the absence of Commissioner Esther Feldman on Wednesday finalized the denial, said county planner Julie Moore.

County planners have five working days to send a letter by certified mail to TMC that would list more than 47 findings for denial. TMC then will have 15 calendar days to file an appeal to the county Board of Supervisors, Moore said.

``We do intend to appeal the decision to the Board of Supervisors,'' TMC spokesman Brian Mastin said Wednesday. He declined to comment further until TMC officials review denial findings.

A separate approval is required from the federal Bureau of Land Management, which owns mineral rights to the site. If BLM's final decision ends up conflicting with that of Los Angeles County, the mining proposal could be decided by the courts.

Azusa-based TMC, a division of Houston-based Southdown Inc., plans to blast 83 million tons of sand and gravel from Soledad Canyon over 20 years. BLM contracted with TMC to mine the 460-acre site, south of the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway and west of Agua Dulce Canyon Road.

Proponents have argued the mine would supply a local source of construction materials for the fast-growing Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.