Wilk: Cemex bad for economy, environment

Senate passes resoultion calling on federal government to do whatever necessary to end proposed mine

State Sen. Scott Wilk spoke on the Senate floor Monday to send a message to the federal government regarding Santa Clarita’s longstanding fight with Cemex.

The Senate passed Senate Resolution 96, which calls on the federal government to do whatever necessary to finally put an end to the proposed Cemex Inc. mega-mine in Soledad Canyon, Wilk said.

“The point of the resolution is to inform the federal government that it’s the will of the California state Senate for them not to approve the Cemex mega mine,” Wilk said Monday, noting the impacts the project could have on air and water quality, as just some of the potential collateral damage.

“And it’ll harm our economy because of the hundreds of trucks that are going to pass through our area,” he said.

The purpose of the resolution, which was also supported by Sen. Henry Stern, D-Canoga Park, is to send a message to the Department of the Interior, Wilk said: Cemex is bad for the economy and the environment.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed the resolution, Wilk said.

Now, the next step is waiting to see what the Interior Board of Land Appeals, or IBLA, will do next. The IBLA is expected to decide on a Cemex appeal of the situation any day now.

Cemex holds two 10-year contracts to mine sand and gravel from Soledad Canyon. Due to work at the federal level, and a recent decision by the Department of the Interior to cancel the contracts, the IBLA can do one of three things, according to previous reports: 1) uphold the Department of the Interior decision to cancel the contracts, i.e. no mine in Soledad Canyon; 2) deem the contracts valid, but note that their initial date of validity was almost 20 years ago (essentially invalidating them); or 3) find that the mining rights are valid for the terms of the contracts.