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Reports from Arizona and California

Rock Products
  • The Town of Prescott Valley, Ariz., has expressed opposition to a proposed sand and gravel operation in two parcels immediately adjacent to Fain Park and StoneRidge Drive. Both parcels, owned by the Fain Family Limited Partnership, are in unincorporated Yavapai County. The town will not reissue a prior right-of-way permit that would have allowed transporting materials mined from the parcels across rights-of-way (including portions of Fain Park) for crushing and other processing. Fain Park is an important community asset, and the town will take appropriate and necessary steps to protect this area, which includes the Fitzmaurice Ruins, according to Prescott eNews.
  • The Sierra Club has filed suit against Yolo County, Calif., over its approval in January of an environmental document for a Teichert Inc. gravel mine. The Teichert Shifler Mining and Reclamation project involves an application to establish a new mining operation to extract sand and gravel aggregate along lower Cache Creek. Referred to as the Teichert Shifler operation, the mining would occur on 264.1 acres of a 319.3-acre site, with other project related uses on the remaining 55 acres. The county’s Cache Creek Area Plan (CCAP), which was adopted in 1996 and updated in 2019, currently governs mining permits for seven other off-channel mining operations along lower Cache Creek ,which include: CEMEX, Granite Capay, Granite Esparto, Syar, Teichert Esparto, Teichert Schwarzgruber and Teichert Woodland.
  • The Mercury News reported that Santa Clara, Calif., County Supervisor Joe Simitian announced a proposal to require Santa Clara County officials to issue a report in 90 days spelling out options for purchasing Lehigh Hanson’s Permanente quarry, including negotiating with its owners or seizing the land by eminent domain. Calling the quarry “a historical anachronism,” Simitian said that the site could be better used for open space, with potentially some housing. “The Permanente cement plant and quarry have been and remain key contributors to the local economy and vital suppliers to critical Bay Area construction projects,” Lehigh Hanson spokesman Jeff Sieg said in a statement. “As we evaluate optimal reclamation approaches and the future of the property in general, we look forward to hearing the county’s ideas that respect both the community interests and Lehigh’s property rights, as well as help create a more sustainable future.”

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