Cupertino quarry's expansion could affect vulnerable species
Hundreds log on to hear a virtual update on Lehigh Permanente plan
What to do with California's red-legged frogs, a vulnerable species with a decreasing population, is one of the main concerns at a South Bay cement quarry with a record as a polluter, which wants to expand as the county weighs buying it.
The owners of the 3,500acre Lehigh Permanente Quarry, which is one of the Bay Area's largest polluters, want to open a new 60-acre pit inside on the quarry ground in the Cupertino foothills. Lehigh Hanson previously had to relocate 22 of the red-legged amphibians in 2017 but now needs a new permit before they can dig a new pit, according to Joseph Terry, a senior biologist with the Sacramento Fish and Wildlife Office.
This news came March 2 during a public meeting hosted by Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who has for years questioned the quarry's environmental effects on the area's habitat. About 250 people tuned into the online meeting to get the latest on the quarry. And frogs weren't the only issue with newly expanded cement operations.
Lehigh submitted a proposal in May 2019 calling for its first new pit since the quarry began mining in 1903. The 60-acre pit would produce an estimated 60 million tons of limestone, aggregate and minerals. According to its application, the company intends to plug up the original pit by 2060 after it's fully mined.
If the quarry were to expand, the frogs would need to be relocated and protected, as the state has seen the small vertebrate's population decline over the years. The frogs would need biological monitors, and the cement plant would have stringent restrictions on operations when water levels are low and especially during breeding season.
The quarry's frogs and surrounding ridgeline are at risk if the pit is opened and cement production at the site ramps up. Right now, a pollutant called selenium in the surrounding regional water supply has “gone down significantly” since last year, according to Rob Salisbury, a senior county planner, but that's only because the kiln at the quarry hasn't been fired up for over a year and operations at the plant are at low levels.
Simitian asked whether the county could require Lehigh to build a low-emissions cement plant, but Salisbury said the county likely could not require such a plant, and there is no indication from Lehigh that they would willingly modify their plant to do so.
The plant still imports and exports cement, but it's not making much cement while the kiln is temporarily shut down.
Residents asked why the company is allowed to keep its site open if it's on record as a polluter. County counsel Michael Rossi said it's because the county and state are legally obligated to allow Lehigh an opportunity to fix their pollution problems, which Rossi said the company has done.
This is why Simitian is asking whether the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District can step in as another regulatory arm with the legal authority to help enforce a longstanding agreement between the county and of the Lehigh's owners to permanently preserve a ridgeline above the 3,500-acre quarry.
The county is pursuing acquiring the quarry, but Simitian said there are currently no development plans for the site.
“There might be some very modest housing potential at the site,” Simitian said. “And before anyone is up in arms, I said `might be.'”