As a result of an effort led by Rep. Steve Knight (R-CA) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the omnibus federal spending bill recently signed into law by President Trump includes language that is designed to prevent additional mining in Soledad Canyon beyond what could be allowed under the existing CEMEX contracts, whose cancellation is under review by the Interior Board of Land Appeals. [Click on headline to read more]
Here’s a link to a commentary by Sierra Club Angeles Chapter SCV Group Chair Sandra Cattell, who urges Santa Clarita Valley residents to contact their congressional representatives to push legislation to kill the Cemex mining project in Soledad Canyon: https://scvnews.com/2018/02/07/cemex-the-clock-is-ticking/
| By Andrew Fried, SAFE President | Aug. 11, 2017 | When President Donald Trump ordered Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to review the status of 27 national monuments created by three former presidents, many across the nation took it as a call to action to advocate on behalf of the monuments closest to their homes, and their hearts. Los Angeles County is among them. Here, Trump’s order raised concerns over the fate of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, designated by President Obama in October 2014. Indeed,…
SB 146 Would Guarantee Residents a Voice Over Mine’s Water Permits | By Andrew Fried, SAFE President, Feb. 20, 2017 | Complacency is deadly. This truism can be aptly applied to the battle to prevent CEMEX USA from developing a massive sand and gravel mine in Soledad Canyon. After more than two decades, in August 2015 it appeared the battle may be drawing to a close, as the federal Bureau of Land Management canceled the contracts…
| By Andrew Fried, SAFE President | April 20, 2015 The game has changed when it comes to the dispute over whether Cemex will proceed with its plan to mine 56 million tons of aggregate from a site in Soledad Canyon just outside of Santa Clarita city limits. That much, at least, has been assured by the dueling letters between Cemex and the Bureau of Land Management. For the better part of two decades, local observers — including our organization,…
| By Andrew Fried, SAFE President | Feb. 26, 2016 As soon as the federal Bureau of Land Management announced it was canceling the CEMEX Soledad Canyon mining contracts last August, those of us who have been following the issue for over a decade noticed one potentially frightening loophole: The BLM never said it was ruling out a massive gravel mine in Soledad Canyon. It was just canceling CEMEX’s contract to develop it. Yes, perhaps we’re paranoid. For a decade…
| By Andrew Fried, SAFE President | Oct. 7, 2015 To paraphrase Mark Twain, the rumors of the death of CEMEX’s Soledad Canyon sand and gravel mine have been greatly exaggerated. A month ago, there was shouting from the rooftops, cheering headlines that said the BLM had “killed” the much-feared mining contracts, held by CEMEX for more than 20 years (but not yet acted upon). The contracts would allow CEMEX to mine 56 million tons of aggregate from a Soledad…
| By Andrew Fried, SAFE President | Sept. 3, 2015 It’s a natural reaction. When you have fought so long and so hard to defeat something, and it appears victory is yours, you’re inclined to celebrate. But most of the published reactions to the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to cancel Cemex’s Soledad Canyon mining contracts have been nothing short of naïve. Simply put, it’s a little soon to be singing, “Ding Dong, the Witch Is Dead,” while the witch…
| By Andrew Fried, SAFE President | May 4, 2014 You would think that a big push to develop a massive gravel mine would at least be backed up by one significant factor: The need for one. As we’ve written previously, the proposed 56-million-ton CEMEX mine, just outside the City of Santa Clarita, would cause significant and irreversible impacts on the wildlife corridors in and around the Santa Clara River, and is a threat to the health, safety and welfare of…