Congressman Brad Sherman from Sherman Oaks has lent his support for the Soledad Canyon Mine Act that resolves a mining dispute between our city of Santa Clarita and CEMEX.
Our congressman Buck McKeon introduced the bill after a year long truce between the City and Cemex, in which negotiations were held. CEMEX currently has two ten-year mining contracts for land off Soledad Canyon Road.
The legislation allows the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to prohibit future mining in the Soledad Canyon while compensating CEMEX for the cancelled contracts through the proceeds of the sale of surplus federal land in San Bernardino County to the city of Victorville.
Sherman recently met with Santa Clarita city officials to discuss the legislation, where he encouraged the city to gain support for the bill from the environmental community, including the Sierra Club and its local volunteer groups. Shortly after, he announced that he would co-sponsor the Soledad Mine Act as it goes before Congress.
“The Soledad Canyon Mine Act will prohibit large-scale mining in Soledad Canyon that would have otherwise caused further degradation of the environment,” said Sherman. “Although there is much work ahead for final passage of the bill, Santa Clarita is well positioned to preserve this land as future open space,” added Sherman.
Sherman noted that the bill was recently endorsed by the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club.
