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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Cemex, Santa Clarita Announce ‘Truce’

Santa Clarita city officials and the building materials producer CEMEX Inc. will work together to find a solution to mining in Soledad Canyon, the two sides announced today. The city and Mexico-based mining company agreed to freeze all permits and applications as of Dec. 31 and focus on an acceptable middle ground for both sides. The two sides for the past seven years have been locked in a bitter fight over mining sand and gravel in the rugged hills of Soledad Canyon. The city has been fighting the federally approved mine on the grounds it would create noise and traffic in the Santa Clarita Valley and erected billboards condemning the proposal. CEMEX, meanwhile, has defended its right to safely quarry and put into place numerous easements and environmental safeguards. The compromise is essentially a truce until an agreement can be reached, said Councilmember Laurene Weste and sub-committee member for the city’s CEMEX efforts, in a statement. “This is a golden opportunity for the city and for CEMEX. Our goal is to protect our community and I believe this agreement is a necessary step to get us there,” she said. Officials for CEMEX agreed. “CEMEX continues to recognize the growing need for aggregate products and remains committed to serving the building materials needs in Southern California of homeowners, contractors and even the state of California for highway and bridge projects,” said Gilberto Perez, president of CEMEX USA, in a statement. “We are, however, committed to this moratorium and are hopeful that this effort will produce positive results for both CEMEX and the city.”

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