It’s a new year, but a very old issue is still dogging us here in the Santa Clarita Valley.
It’s the proposed Cemex mining operation. That company has been wanting to put a sand-and-gravel operation in Soledad Canyon for decades.
Needlessto say, if this happens, quality of life in the entire Santa Clarita Valley and neighboring San Fernando and Antelope valleys would be hurt as could property values. Frankly, it could have a negative impact on a broad swath of Los Angeles County.
Over the years, local Santa Clarita officials and some California members of Congress have fought Cemex’s plan through the courts, legislation and other Washington and Sacramento maneuvering.
Just when we think that the mine has been killed for good something happens and it looks like we have to worry about it again.
The latest problem is that Cemex has filed a lawsuit against the City of Santa Clarita in response to the city’s plans to annex the mine site. The company claims among other things breach of contract, civil rights violations and breach of the implied covenant of good faith.
This latest legal maneuver is frankly not surprising and its likelihood of success is unclear. But it should be a wake-up call for all of us who live here and have a stake in our community. As citizens, we must keep informed about what is going on around us and do what we can to keep this impending disaster from happening.
City hall has been proactive and has over the years amounted an aggressive campaign to thwart this mine as it should. We have confidence in the officials there as well as Congressman Steve Knight that they will do all they can to keep this from happening. But they need the support of the community.
We can be loud voices from within letting our elected representatives in all levels of government as well as the Cemex company itself know that we don’t want this and that we are putting up a huge fight against it. Public passion will be fuel for the elected and unelected officials as they do their jobs.
Go to www.santa-clarita.com where you can find emails for members of the Santa Clarita City Council. Tell them you support their efforts. Go to knight.house.gov and tell Congressman Steve Knight you support his efforts and ask him to make sure this is the No. 1 priority on his list.
The main thing is to stay informed about this issue and be aware that this could happen in our community and it will affect everyone here. Don’t be complacent and complain about it if it happens. The people who represent us have worked hard on this over the years on the issue and no doubt will continue to do so but they need our support.