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March 13, 2007
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD CLOSES
FOR DIAMOND ROCK MINE;
HEARING SCHEDULED FOR MAY 30
More Than 300
Concerned Citizens Write Letters Opposing Excessive Truck
Traffic on Scenic Highway 33 Through
Los Padres National Forest and Nearby Communities
Santa Barbara
County, Calif. - The official public comment period for the
Diamond Rock Sand & Gravel Mine and Processing Facility came to
a close on January 31. A public hearing is scheduled for May 30
with the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission.
During the
comment period, more than 300 concerned citizens wrote letters
expressing their concerns about excessive truck traffic on
Scenic Highway 33, which connects the Cuyama Valley to Ojai
while passing through some of the most dramatic scenery of the
Los Padres National Forest.
ForestWatch's letter to the county outlined our concerns
about hundreds of additional gravel trucks cutting through the
heart of the Los Padres National Forest on Scenic Highway 33.
The mine could add as many as 138 daily truck trips through the
national forest during peak production, according to the Draft
Environmental Impact Report released in December.
Our letter
identified several major deficiencies with the mine's
Environmental Impact Report. For example, the report illegally
disregarded impacts to forest recreation along Highway 33, which
provides the main access route to popular recreation
destinations in the Los Padres National Forest. The highway
hosts the Wheeler Gorge Visitors' Center, the only stand-alone
visitors center in the entire Los Padres National Forest. It
also provides access for several hiking, biking, and equestrian
trailheads, including many that lead into three nearby
wilderness areas - the Sespe, Matilija, and Dick Smith
wildernesses. The highway corridor is also popular for swimming,
fishing, picnicking, camping, and rock climbing. The winding
mountain highway is also popular with bicyclists and
motorcycles.
The DEIR
concluded that the impact of dozens of additional trucks would
be "very small and episodic" on these recreational activities.
If you've ever camped at Wheeler Gorge campground, hiked along
Sespe Creek, climbed at Sespe Gorge, or biked to Rose Valley,
you know that these impacts are quite significant. Many people
who submitted comment letters explained how their forest
experiences are ruined by excessive truck traffic.
We also
pointed out in our letter that the DEIR completely ignored the
impacts of excessive truck traffic on the eligibility of Sespe
Creek for federal Wild & Scenic River protection. Highway 33
runs right along this stretch of pristine river.
ForestWatch
also identified deficiencies in the DEIR with respect to air
pollution in nearby Wilderness areas, groundwater supplies at
the mine site in the Cuyama Valley, and to wildlife in the Los
Padres National Forest.
Read our
comment letter by clicking
here.
Others
voicing their concerns during the comment period were: Ojai
Chamber of Commerce, Ventura County Supervisor Steve Bennett,
Ojai City Council, Ojai Unified School District, the
U.S. Forest
Service, California Department of Fish & Game, Ventura and
Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control Districts, Ojai Valley
Municipal Advisory Council, Chumash Council of Bakersfield,
Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians, the Los Padres Forest
Association, Keep the Sespe Wild, Sierra Club, Mira Monte
Beautification Committee, Ojai Valley Board of Realtors, Ojai
Valley Green Coalition, Environmental Coalition of Ventura
County, Cuyama Valley residents and landowners, and hundreds of
other agencies, organizations, local businesses, and
individuals.
Town Meeting Spawns the "Committee to Stop the Trucks"
ForestWatch
organized a town meeting in Ojai in January. More than 130
people attended the event on a rainy night to learn more about
the proposed mine. The evening featured speakers from the Ojai
Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Ojai Unified School District,
the Ojai Mayor, Ventura County Economic Development Association,
Los Padres ForestWatch, Cuyama Valley farmers, and residents
living along Highway 33.
Shortly
after the meeting, a team of concerned residents, community
leaders, and organizations like ForestWatch have joined together
to form the "Committee to Stop the Trucks." The committee is
currently working on various strategies to prevent excessive
truck traffic on Scenic Highway 33.
What's Next
The Santa
Barbara County Planning Commission will consider whether to
approve the Diamond Rock Mine permit at a hearing scheduled for
Wednesday, May 30, 2007. The time and location are not yet
determined.
If you
submitted comments during the comment period, the County is
required to notify you about the availability of the Final
Environmental Impact Report. The County is also required to send
you a notice of the public hearing.
ForestWatch
will keep our website updated with current information about the
hearing as soon as it becomes available.
Photos of Recent Gravel Truck
Accidents on Highway 33
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