The CEMEX megamine application for the use of water from the Santa Clara River has been re-activated and will resume processing, according to the California State Water Resources Control Board

The processing of the application was originally put on hold in November 2019, while waiting for a final decision on the status of CEMEX, INC.’s federal contracts for mineral materials, according to the Water Board.

In May 2022, the United States District Court reinstated mining contracts for Soledad Canyon – vacating the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) Decision in 2019 and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Decision in 2015 that confirmed the expiration of the contracts on July 31, 2020.

“To reverse the action and reinstate the CEMEX mining contracts puts our residents, natural environment, wildlife and our community’s quality of life in danger,” said then-Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste at the time. “This issue is far from over, and we will continue to fight and oppose any and all mining in Soledad Canyon.”

The City of Santa Clarita has been fighting to prevent mining in Soledad Canyon since the CEMEX contracts were issued by the federal government in 1990, according to Weste.

The mining contracts, according to the City, are expected to result in the mining of 56-million tons of sand and gravel from Soledad Canyon, which would add up to 1,164 truck trips a day on already overpopulated roads and freeways.

The mining and transport of sand are likely to cause air quality issues and potential negative impacts to the Santa Clara River, the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and wildlife corridors connecting the Angeles National Forest, as well as fish, wildlife and sensitive habitat and endangered species in the area, according to the City.

The re-activation of the application would be especially relevant considering the recent passage of a bipartisan bill into the Senate.

Assembly Bill 1631, co-authored with Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, and Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, would allow the Santa Clarita Valley to weigh in on any attempts by CEMEX to operate mining activities in our community.

“Mega mines like the proposed CEMEX project would reverse years of environmental protection progress and cause a great disturbance to our community,” Schiavo said in April. “This legislation, which just cleared a major hurdle by advancing through its first committee, will give our community the voice they deserve. Given that the Santa Clarita Valley community works hard to protect our land, water and air quality, our input is vital.”

The “re-noticed” application would allow for protests to be filed against the potential mining operation, as well as allow for public comment that would otherwise be unavailable if it were inactive, according to the Water Boards.

For more information on the three-decade battle over mining rights in Soledad Canyon, click here.

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