Financial bailout overshadows Soledad Canyon issue; will come up again in 2009.

Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon announced that with the end of
the congressional session nearing, he intends to carry the Soledad Canyon Mine
Act (H.R. 5887) into the 111th Congress. 

The legislation incorporates an agreement reached by the
cities of Santa Clarita and Victorville and Cemex to settle a dispute regarding
a mine proposed to operate in Soledad
Canyon, has bipartisan support that
will continue as the bill is reintroduced. Once approved by Congress, it would
stop any mining operation from being located in Soledad
Canyon.

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“This session is quickly wrapping up with the economic
rescue plan dominating Congress, and it has become clear that the Soledad
Canyon Mine Act will need to be brought forward in the 111th Congress. 
That’s why I plan to reintroduce the bill as soon as possible in the new
legislative year,” said McKeon.  “This is a critically important issue for
my constituents and the legislation has ideal, bipartisan support behind it
that will continue as we move forward.”

McKeon’s legislative proposal would cancel two 10-year Soledad
Canyon mining contracts that CEMEX
has with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), thereby ending the
possibility of mining at the Soledad Canyon
site.  Currently, the Soledad Canyon Mine Act has 10 co-sponsors, including
two Democratic members. 

“The Soledad Canyon
mining issue remains at the forefront for the residents of Santa Clarita, and I
support the measure authored by Congressman McKeon,” said Rep. Brad Sherman
(D-Sherman Oaks).  “I look forward to addressing the issue with him again
as we move into the 111th Congress.”

The Soledad Canyon Mine Act received a wide breadth and
depth of support from a variety of constituencies.  Since its
introduction, bipartisan elected leaders including the entire Los Angeles
County Board of Supervisors, six separate southern California City Councils and
more than 60 local elected leaders in Southern California; environmental and
air quality groups such as the Sierra Club, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy,
Planning and Conservation League, Clean Air Now, Breathe California of Los
Angeles County and the Coalition for Clean Air;  business organizations
such as the Valley Industrial Association of Santa Clarita, Santa Clarita
Chamber of Commerce and the California Association of Realtors;  political
organizations such as the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and the
Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley; neighborhood groups including
homeowners associations and town councils; local school boards as well as water
districts in addition to more than 1,000 southern California residents have
declared support for the important legislation.