Proposed Sand and Gravel Mining Operation, Los Angeles County, CA

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 87 (Thursday, May 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24415-24416]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-11342]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management
[CA-066-99-1990-00; CACA-20139 and CACA-22901]


Proposed Sand and Gravel Mining Operation, Los Angeles County, CA

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, Palm 
Springs-South Coast Field Office, Desert District, CA.

ACTION: Notice of availability, draft environmental impact statement.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969 and 40 CFR 1503.1(a), notice is hereby given that the 
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has prepared a Draft Environmental 
Impact Statement (EIS) for the Transit Mixed Concrete (TMC) Company 
Sand and Gravel Mining Project proposed for

[[Page 24416]]

construction and operation off of Soledad Canyon Road and State Highway 
14, Los Angeles County, California. The project site is within an 
unincorporated area of the County, north of Soledad Canyon Road, south 
of Antelope Valley Freeway, and west of Agua Dulce Canyon.
    Interested citizens are invited to review the Draft EIS and submit 
comments. Copies of the Draft EIS may be obtained by telephoning or 
writing to the contact person listed below. Public reading copies of 
the Draft EIS are available at the following County of Los Angeles 
public libraries: Canyon Country Library, 18536 Soledad Canyon Road, 
Santa Clarita, CA 91351; Newhall Library, 22704 W. Ninth Street, Santa 
Clarita, CA 91321; Valencia Library, 23743 W. Valencia Boulevard, Santa 
Clarita, CA 91355.

DATES: Comments must be submitted in writing no later than July 6, 
1999.

ADDRESSES: Written comments shall be mailed to the following address: 
Mr. James G. Kenna, Field Manager, Bureau of Land Management, Palm 
Springs--South Coast Field Office, 690 W. Garnet Avenue, PO Box 1260, 
North Palm Springs, California, 92258. Comments may also be submitted 
by electronic mail (e-mail) to the following address: Palm Springs FO 
CA-EMAIL. The response to comments will be provided in the Final EIS.

PUBLIC MEETING: On June 2, 1999, the BLM will hold a public meeting for 
the purpose of receiving oral comments on the scope and content of the 
Draft EIS. There will be two sessions, from 4 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 
p.m. The public is invited to attend either session or both. The 
location of the meeting is at the Sulphur Springs Elementary School, 
16628 W. Lost Canyon Road, Canyon Country, CA 91351.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: TMC plans to mine a total of 83 million tons 
of materials and produce and sell approximately 56 million tons of 
Portland cement concrete sand and gravel over a 20-year period. The 
project plan includes the transport of processed material off-site in 
trucks as either aggregate product or ready-mixed concrete. All 
proposed mining and processing operations are located north of Soledad 
Canyon Road and outside the floodplain of the Santa Clara River and its 
tributaries. Mining will begin on the south side of a northeast-
southwest trending ridge on-site, and progress through four successive 
excavation cuts. Fill areas for excess natural fines will be 
established on the south and north sides of the ridge. Reclamation and 
revegetation will be concurrent with mining operations and measures 
have been incorporated into project design to minimize erosion, provide 
watershed control, and protect water quality in the Santa Clara River. 
A full range of alternatives to the proposed action are considered in 
the Draft EIS.
    The project site is on ``split-estate'' lands where the surface is 
privately owned and the minerals are federally-owned and administered 
by the BLM. Thus, the project is also subject to approval of a Surface 
Mining Permit through preparation of an Environmental Impact Report 
(EIR) in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act 
(CEQA). The County of Los Angeles is the lead agency responsible for 
preparation of the EIR which has been prepared concurrently with the 
EIS.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Elena Misquez, BLM, Palm 
Springs--South Coast Field Office, PO Box 1260, North Palm Springs, CA 
92258, telephone 760-251-4804.

    Dated: April 30, 1999.
James G. Kenna,
Field Manager.
[FR Doc. 99-11342 Filed 5-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-40-P