Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, announced Thursday that a bill allowing public input on CEMEX’s controversial Santa Clarita mine has passed unanimously through the state senate.  

Senate Bill 520 (SB 520), coauthored by Assemblywoman Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, would allow public input on projects approved more than 30 years before being constructed, including the planned CEMEX Mega-Mine in Santa Clarita. 

“The proposed CEMEX Mega Mine at Soledad Canyon Road and the 14 Freeway would be the second largest aggregate mine in America,” stated Wilk. “The project didn’t make sense in 1991, and less so today. The people ought to have a right to petition their government and SB 520 would achieve this.”

If passed, the bill would allow members of the Santa Clarita community to voice their concerns regarding the construction of the CEMEX mega-mine in the valley, a project which was first approved about 30 years ago.

In 1991, CEMEX’s owners applied for approval for their project, which would allow them to mine 322 acre-feet per year from the Santa Clara River. There have been concerns the mining could have negative effects on the river’s natural environment.

The application was never moved through the State Water Resources Control Board.

“This project has gone 30 years and our community has grown exponentially since we first rejected this mine,” Valladares. “The people who will be most impacted by this should have a say. The voices of our families and businesses need to be heard, and the SCV and surrounding communities are now one step closer to getting that opportunity.”

Before its presentation on the Senate floor, the bill passed unanimously through the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, where Santa Clarita Mayor Pro Tem Laurene Weste testified in support.

The bill was also unanimously passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee,  where it was keyed as having minimal and absorbable costs to the state.

The bill is now set to move to the State Assembly. In the coming weeks, it is set to be reviewed by Assembly policy and fiscal committees.

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