Mining Hearing Draws Hundreds

A public hearing today to consider a mining company's appeal for approval of a quarry project near Temecula drew several hundred people to the Riverside Convention Center, where supporters and opponents voiced their concerns to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

"The mine will kill that mountain," said Temecula City Councilman Ron Roberts. "The quarry will drain away the ground water and just suck the life out of vegetation ... The gateway entrance to (southwest) Riverside County will be a dead mountain with a one-mile train of trucks heading toward it. Is it really worth a few jobs?"

He maintained that the operation would increase pollution to levels that threaten the area's wine vineyards.

"You're talking about a giant open pit blasting mine," added Temecula City Councilwoman Maryann Edwards. "It would be the biggest, most harmful project in Riverside County. No corporate business decision is worth the impacts this mine will have on the people and the place itself."

Homeowner and environmental groups, as well as all of the area Indian tribes, are staunchly opposed to the project. Supporters include virtually all the chambers of commerce located within the county, along with officials from cities throughout the central and eastern county regions.

"We in the Coachella Valley understand the need for the Liberty Quarry," said La Quinta Mayor Pro Tem Terry Henderson. "Liberty Quarry is positioning Riverside County for its future and present needs. Money is not the driving force; good public policy is."

"Riverside County needs more aggregate ... for roads, schools and other public facilities," said Menifee Mayor John Denver. "Right now, we're trucking in aggregate from far-reaching places. We're paying for the higher costs associated with that. Having this (quarry) is vital to the sustainability of our region."

The project zone would lie just north of the boundary separating Riverside and San Diego counties, east of the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve and west of Temecula, adjacent to Interstate 15 and Rainbow Valley Boulevard.

Opponents argue the quarry would result in noise, pollution, drainage and habitat changes that have lasting repercussions.

"Our tribe has gone to great lengths to communicate to Granite the importance of this area," said Corrina Sanchez, a member of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians' council. "No mitigation will alleviate the effects of this project, other than moving it away from the mountain, which is an essential element of tribal identity."

Members of the tribe repeatedly emphasized that the escarpment where mining is planned is a "creation place" with great "spiritual significance."

A final environmental impact report issued last March found that most land-use problems arising from the project could be mitigated. Planning commission staff recommended that the board vote in favor of it, providing various conditions were met.

After determining that the project "footprint" could be shrunk to around 135 acres, commissioners were optimistic that it could move forward. However, after listening to more than 50 hours of testimony and reviewing several hundred letters and emails -- most of them negative -- the commission voted against the quarry.

Commissioners cited elevated levels of silica dust and other pollutants in the first two years of the project, the permanent impact on area aesthetics, including nighttime lights, and the adverse effects on area wildlife as reasons for opposition.

Granite Construction is seeking a 75-year operating window, during which it plans to remove an estimated five million tons of construction-grade aggregate -- gravel and sand -- from hillsides.

Around 100 direct jobs and nearly 200 collateral jobs would be created by the project, according to Granite. Planning commission staff estimated the quarry would add about $341 million annually to local government coffers.

The aggregate extracted at the mine would provide asphalt and concrete for roads, homes and other infrastructure projects, Granite officials said. A planning commission staff report indicated the mine would cut down on how far trucks have to transport aggregate for projects in northern San Diego County and southwest Riverside County.

A final public hearing is set for Feb. 6.