Duarte council to view Vulcan mine impact study
April 23, 2005Council meeting to address impact of proposed mine expansion
By Emanuel Parker , Staff Writer
DUARTE -- A Vulcan Materials Co. spokesman will present a visual impact study at Tuesday's Duarte City Council meeting to show how their proposed mining expansion will look from that city.
City officials asked for the study after they visited the site and determined from photos that it would be visible from almost everywhere in Duarte.
Before-and-after schematic drawings of the proposed mining site drawn from the perspective of two intersections in Duarte will be shown.
The Vulcan site is in Azusa and the 80-acre expansion is on a hillside near the border between Azusa and Duarte.
City officials and residents are concerned about hillside scarring, noise, dust and harmful particulate matter from the mine.
For several months, city officials have been meeting with Vulcan, Azusa officials and the South Coast Air Quality Management District to minimize the impact the mine would have on Duarte residents.
Duarte officials want to examine the mine site as seen from the intersections of Greenbank Avenue and Conata Street and Mt. Olive and Huntington drives.
The Greenbank intersection was selected because it is visible from the proposed mining site. Mt. Olive was picked because as the hillside is leveled by mining, it would no longer be visible from Greenbank, but would remain visible from Mt. Olive and most of south Duarte.
Vulcan has a conditional use permit to quarry 190 acres of property until 2038. The agreement with Azusa dates from the 1950s and underwent major amendments in the 1980s.
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Both documents also would cover new mining fees and concurrent and immediate reclamation of new acreage and currently scarred areas.
An Environmental Impact Report also would be required, giving the public and officials in nearby cities such as Duarte an opportunity to voice concerns about the proposal. The EIR is expected to take 12 to 18 months and must be completed before Azusa officials vote on the expansion.
Emanuel Parker can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4475, or by e-mail at emanuel.parker@sgvn.com.
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