3-8-96 Here are a few facts about CalMat's proposed Agua Dulce Quarry which is a surface (strip) mining Sand and Gravel project. Calmat has been proposing this project in virtual secrecy without any input from or reports to the Town Council who are the elected representatives of the community.
Calmat is very free with their reports to whom they perceive as supporting and pro-growth elements in a community. They are a member of the Agua Dulce Chamber of Commerce and are an advertiser in their “Community Directory,”
This is their first summation to LA county which they made in 1991. Some highlights are:
1. A listing of the 7 sand and gravel projects in the Canyon.
2. Shows Agua Dulce Canyon Road as access to the Freeway from the project.
3. Shows part of the project is in a SEA (sensitive environmental area).
4. Shows the primary water source as the Santa Clara River with “lesser” water in other areas.
5. Shows 110,500,000 tons of sand and gravel removed and an added 78,500,000 tons of fines (smaller than sand) which is naturally unstable fill in the canyons. That is a total of 184 MILLION tons of mountain removed.
6. Calls for three sources for water: Wells, Commercial Water System, and Reclaimed Water (is the output from a sewage treatment plant). The water in Soledad Canyon is a river and requires extraction permits from the State.
Calmat does not have an extraction permit and because it is in a sensitive environmental area, it is highly unlikely they will ever receive one. Transit Mix has an extraction permit and has lodged a complaint to prevent an extraction permit being issued to Rio Dulce which is ahead of Calmat's application.
Therefore, Calmat and their supporters have taken the position that for the good of Agua Dulce, a sewage treatment plant must be built. And for the good of Calmat it will be paid for by the property owners of Agua Dulce and give Calmat its only source of Water.
The amount of water they project to use is 803 gallons per minute. This clearly shows that no well outside the river will produce that amount of water, This amount approximates the average use for the entire Acton water system of over 1000 users.
Calmat will not be able to operate their Agua Dulce Sand and Gravel project unless the sewage treatment plant is built.
7. Shows they will be blasting up to 18 hours per day for 30 years.
8. Shows they expect a truck every 6 minutes, 24 hours per day, and a truck every 2 minutes during peak operations.
8. Shows the project will convert the area from Rural to an urban environment after they flattened the hills as their reclamation plan.
Please take this data and study it fully. Considering this project, you can see that both Calmat and Transit Mix view your southern hills as just piles of Sand and gravel to be harvested and replaced by thousands of condos for an improved and urban Agua Dulce.
A full copy of this report was provided by this paper to the Town Council and The Civic.