| Washington, D.C. - Congressman Brad Sherman (Sherman Oaks) today announced his support for the Soledad Canyon Mine Act (H.R. 5887) that resolves a mining dispute between the City of Santa Clarita and CEMEX in the Santa Clarita Valley.
In April, Congressman Howard “Buck” McKeon introduced H.R. 5887 following a year of negotiations between the City of Santa Clarita and CEMEX to cancel two ten-year mining contracts in the Santa Clarita Valley’s Soledad Canyon. The legislation allows the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to prohibit future mining in the Soledad Canyon while compensating CEMEX for the cancelled contracts through the proceeds of the sale of surplus federal land in San Bernardino County to the city of Victorville.
Sherman recently met with Santa Clarita city officials to discuss the legislation and strongly encourage the city to gain support for the bill from the environmental community, including the Sierra Club and its local volunteer groups.
“The Soledad Canyon Mine Act will prohibit large-scale mining in Soledad Canyon that would have otherwise caused further degradation of the environment,” said Sherman. “Although there is much work ahead for final passage of the bill, Santa Clarita is well positioned to preserve this land as future open space,” added Sherman.
Sherman noted that the bill was recently endorsed by the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club.
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