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After years of meetings in D.C. conference rooms, a seven-year partnership and about $12 million in lobbying efforts, the city of Santa Clarita’s hopes of stopping a 56 million-ton sand-and-gravel mine from opening next door are in jeopardy due to a New Mexico senator’s legislative hold, officials said Saturday. Photo courtesy of SCVnews.com
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Court Rules In Favor Of Cemex In Ongoing Battle For Mining Operation In Santa Clarita

A federal court sided with Cemex in a ruling against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the ongoing case to allow the company to have a mining site in Santa Clarita on Soledad Canyon Road. 

A federal court sided with Cemex in a ruling against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the ongoing case to allow the company to have a mining site in Santa Clarita on Soledad Canyon Road. 

In 1990, Cemex purchased from the federal government the right to extract sand and gravel from a mineral deposit located in Santa Clarita.    

For approximately 25 years, both parties operated under the mutual understanding that the two-decade production period would not start to run until Cemex acquired the necessary permits to begin mining, according to court documents.  

That changed in 2015 when the Bureau of Land Management informed Cemex that the production period had concluded and that Cemex owed the government millions in payments in lieu of production, court documents read. 

Cemex moves, among other things, to set  aside the government’s action as arbitrary and capricious, according to the documents.  

See Related: Wilk Announces Bill Allowing Public Input For CEMEX Mega-Mine

The government responded with a motion for summary judgment of its own.  

“In particular, the Parties should address whether it is appropriate to remand only; to vacate the Board’s decision only; or to vacate both the Board’s decisions and the Bureau’s action,” according to the ruling. 

The Court granted Cemex’s Motion and denied the government’s Motion for the reasons that Soledad Canyon has been used for mining since the 1960s.    

The area contains one of the largest sand and gravel deposits in Southern California, according to the ruling. 

“It is unconscionable to hear this decision from the District Court that implies the contracts never actually began,” said Councilmember and CEMEX City Council Ad Hoc Committee Member Jason Gibbs. “Our City Council, elected officials, many community organizations, businesses and residents have fought against this mining operation for years due to the devastating impact it would have on our environment and our quality of life in the Santa Clarita Valley.”

Santa Clarita officials expect to keep a close eye on the ongoing litigation, continuing a two-decade-long fight against the development of a mining project in the Santa Clarita Valley.

“As we wait to hear what the District Court decides on the remedy in the litigation, we will continue to closely track this litigation and continue to be ready to fight to prevent large-scale mining from ever occurring in Soledad Canyon,” Gibbs said.

 

 


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Court Rules In Favor Of Cemex In Ongoing Battle For Mining Operation In Santa Clarita

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About Grace Halaby

Grace Halaby is a Washington State native currently attending The Master’s University and will graduate in May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications- Creative Writing and Publishing. She joined the KHTS News Team in February 2021 and when Grace isn’t writing or studying, she can be found reading, or exploring California with her husband Peyton.