Minutes of Agua Dulce Town Council Meeting

AGUA DULCE TOWN COUNCIL UPDATE August 9, 2000

We opted to share two emails received by the Council regarding Transit Mixed Concrete's proposed mining project, and our responses, rather than publish a Council Update after our July 26th meeting. The questions asked in the emails were good ones, and were probably in the minds of many in the area. We also wanted to reaffirm the Council's desire to hear from you. Establishing a dialogue with stakeholders in Agua Dulce is our primary focus. Reflecting your questions and views is the task assigned to the Council under our Charter and Bylaws.

FUTURE AGENDAS: A presentation by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy scheduled for the Council meeting on September 13th has been postponed. We will advise you through the Council Update when it is rescheduled. Barry Kirshner, a developer currently in escrow on the Agua Dulce Airport, is planning to provide an update at the September 13th Council meeting.

TOWN COUNCIL ELECTION: The national political conventions held recently remind us that Agua Dulce will also be holding an election on November 7th. Three Agua Dulce Town Council seats will be open. They are the seats currently held by Donna Saufley, Darrell Readmond and Al Aldaz. We hope that one or more of these fine folks will run again. However, the election also represents an opportunity for you to get involved in our community. Think about it. If you have any questions, or wish to be a candidate, please call Toni Pearlman, Election Committee Chair, at 268-0838.

MAYOR'S COMMITTEE: Mayor JoAnne Darcy and the City Council of Santa Clarita have established a Mayor's Advisory Committee on Managed Growth. The Agua Dulce Town Council asked for, and was granted a seat on this committee in order to represent unincorporated areas bordering and, therefore, impacted by the City of Santa Clarita's decisions about future growth. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 30th, with Diane Terito representing Agua Dulce. Information gathered at the upcoming meetings will be shared with the community through our Council Updates, and with other interested representatives in the region, such as the Acton Town Council. If you have a particular interest in this issue, please send an Email to AguaDulceCouncil@aol.com and ask to be added to the Council's email list.

SOLEDAD CANYON SAND & GRAVEL MINING: While the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) (as lead agency for the federal government) has issued its Record of Decision (ROD) on Transit Mixed Concrete's (TMC) proposed project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the County of Los Angeles continues to grind through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process.

A document entitled "Additional Environmental Information to the Draft Environmental Impact Report, regarding the proposed TMC project, was issued on August 17, 2000. We understand that a copy of the document has been mailed to every organization and individual who registered a response to this project during the CEQA public input period. Approximately 260 pages in length, plus maps and tables, this document is available for you to read at the Canyon Country Public Library, on the Internet at www.co.la.ca.us, or copies are available through Chambers Group, Inc. - (949) 261-5414.

The document appears to have been written by Chambers Group on behalf of TMC. It focuses on the Reduced North Fines Storage Area Alternative (RNFSA), which was identified by the BLM ROD issued in July 2000 as the BLM's Agency Preferred Alternative (APA). The Agua Dulce Town Council has begun its study of the document in order to determine what, if any, new information and/or mitigation measures it contains. The RNFSA is not new. It was described in some detail in the TMC draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and in the final Environmental Impact Study (FEIS) already published. It was also the alternative endorsed by the L.A. County Regional Planning Staff in its initial recommendation of approval presented to the Regional Planning Commission prior to the public input period. (The public input period was the first opportunity available to bring forward the many serious issues and negative environmental impacts on this area which the Planning Staff had not considered in its initial recommendation for approval of the project. The Regional Planning Commission denied the Surface Mining Permit for this project by a 5-0 vote when all was said and done.) This new document contains an expanded description of the RNFSA and information regarding the RNFSA environmental setting, impact analysis and mitigation measures.

The formal public review period for this new document will be from August

17 to October 18, 2000. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has placed TMC's appeal of the Planning Commission's denial of a Surface Mining Permit on their agenda for October 24th. It will be critical to have as many area residents as possible at that Board of Supervisors' meeting on the 24th. Plan now to take the day off, or rearrange your schedule so that you can be there. We need to pack the Supervisors' meeting room so that we can show both the county and federal government representatives that we are serious in our efforts to stop or heavily restrict the efforts to turn the Soledad Canyon area into the new mining capital of Southern California.

The City of Santa Clarita, and its City Council (SCV) have taken the lead in opposition to the mining in general, and TMC in particular. They have recently published a brochure, and mailed it to residences throughout the area. If you did not receive one in the mail, the brochure is also now available for you to pick up in Richard's Canyon Market, Maria Bonita's, and other places around town. It will also be tipped into an upcoming issue of the Country Journal. If you prefer, you may visit the SCV website at www.santa-clarita.com/tmc.

In the SCV brochure, you will find the addresses for all 5 of the members of the Board of Supervisors. Every concerned Stakeholder in the region should write a letter and send a personally addressed copy to each Supervisor. Information you may use in your letter is also included in the SCV brochure. Your letters must be received by the Supervisors NO LATER THAN October 18th, 2000.

IT'S UP TO YOU: Some in this area prefer to believe that mining in Soledad Canyon will not impact them. This assumption is not based in reality.

Have you encountered an increased number of trucks on the 14 Freeway, Soledad Canyon Road, and other traffic arteries in the area? CalMat, and other mining operations, are expanding their presence in Lang Station almost on a daily basis, sending aggregate as well as ready-mixed concrete all over the L.A. Basin.

Have you witnessed plumes of dust rising from the various mining operations located at Lang Station? The Council has photographs taken by eye witnesses to this frequent occurrence.

If a mining operation located approximately 8 miles away can have these impacts on Agua Dulce residents, how much more will you and your family be impacted by a mining operation sitting just 3 miles from our elementary school?

Some residents and organizations in this area believe that mining is a "political issue" and, therefore, choose to ignore or avoid it. This assumption is not based in reality. It is true that this issue is playing out in the political arena, because it is the politicians, political appointees, and bureaucrats who are responsible for interpreting the applicable laws and granting or denying permission for actions to be taken. However, mining on the scale contemplated in the Soledad Canyon by the federal government (BLM) is far more than a political issue.

Stand along Soledad Canyon Road and contemplate the landscape of Lang Station. Picture that same landscape expanded to include the TMC mountain and both sides of Agua Dulce Canyon Road from the Santa Clara River to the 14 Freeway.

Visit other communities where mining is occurring, like Azusa/Irwindale or Little Rock, or Moorpark. Read about the overwhelming pollution and degradation in the quality of life caused by mining which residents of Moorpark and Lockwood Valley, among others, have and are experiencing. Recognize that residents of some of these communities have been forced to walk away from their homes, giving them back to the lenders, because of the detriment to their health and the loss of equity in their homes caused by large-scale mining. (A copy of an article about Lockwood Valley is currently posted on the Town Council bulletin board at Richard's Canyon Market.)

Are you aware that local area real estate agents are now disclosing to prospective buyers that large-scale mining "may" occur in Soledad Canyon? Do you understand how just that simple statement, much less the reality of mining, will impact your property values?

Some residents of Agua Dulce believe that it is the responsibility of the Town Council alone to stop or impact the proposed mining project(s). This assumption is not based in reality.

According to the Charter and Bylaws that established the Agua Dulce Town Council and guide our actions, the Council has one purpose: that purpose is to educate the residents on pertinent issues, determine the consensus of the community on the issues, and then speak for the community. We are not here to fight the battles for you so that you may go on about your daily lives carefree. If you do not participate, if you do not speak up, if you do not support your Council by participating in giving us the information and assistance we need to truly represent you, then we are unable to do our job. We appreciate those generous few who have made a contribution to the Town Council either in cash or services. However, $1,000 won't hire a lawyer to write an appeal of the BLM's ROD, or hire an expert(s) to speak articulately about the scientific facts of the environmental impacts on our community. Therefore, the Council is officially advising you that Agua Dulce and its Town Council will not be taking either action. You and I, and our families, are now completely dependent on the generosity of the City of Santa Clarita to fight this battle. If you are uncomfortable with that reality, then IT'S UP TO YOU.

Sincerely yours, Diane Terito, President AGUA DULCE TOWN COUNCIL

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