Appellate judge sets date for Cemex briefs 

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One of the longest-running legal dramas in Santa Clarita Valley history is set to begin its latest chapter this month. 

Justice Elwood Lui, presiding judge of the 2nd District Court of Appeals, consolidated appeals filed in July and August by Cemex, which wants to open a mine and extract 56 million tons of aggregate from Soledad Canyon land just east of Santa Clarita city limits. 

The city of Santa Clarita has fought Cemex’s mining efforts for approximately 25 years, with Cemex’s efforts going back even farther. In December, city officials called the battle with the international Mexican construction conglomerate its most important federal issue

However, right now the city’s battle is in the state courts.  

Cemex is appealing a Superior Court ruling by Judge Stephen Goorvitch that sustained the State Water Board’s decision to notice Cemex’s application for a public hearing, which the mining company has consistently opposed. 

Both sides’ arguments — the State Water Board and Cemex — are due Feb. 21

Last year, Cemex filed two appeals after State Water Board officials said they planned to re-notice the mining company’s request for water-use permits — a decision the state agency ruled was not subject to appeal.  

The decision was good news for the city, which has supported legislation from Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, and former Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, who wrote a bill that had sought to guarantee the permit request would be re-noticed.  

The logic behind the legislation was that Cemex’s mining permits were originally acquired in 1991, and the legislators reasoned that so much has changed in the surrounding area since, it made sense to give the impacted stakeholders a chance to register protest at a public hearing. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom ultimately vetoed that legislation due to the agency’s decision.  

The mine’s plan calls for the use of approximately 322 acre-feet per year from the Santa Clara River, which was the purpose of the permit application for a beneficial use. For comparison, an average home uses about 0.4 to 0.5 acre-feet in a year, or about 150,000 gallons, and a typical backyard pool holds between 18,000 and 30,000 gallons.  

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