Mike Spata, Director of the Resource Management Agency (RMA), started the hearing by informing the commissioners that the lawyers were present to report that both sides have reached a tentative agreement. He also explained, the RMA has a draft agreement of revisions to the conditional use permit that CEMEX and the affected residents are expected to sign.

When the commissioners asked what those revisions were, Spata said that negotiations were still confidential and that he would outline them at the next public hearing. He also said that there would be no surprises because all the permit issues had been discussed in the previous hearings.

Paul Mitchell, lawyer for CEMEX, said that he cannot divulge the contents of the negotiations, but confirms that they have happened, and that CEMEX signed the agreement last week.

Ray Carlson, lawyer for the affected residents, said that they were ready to also sign the agreement.  CEMEX, the residents and RMA are all on the same page concerning the revised conditions on CEMEX’ use permit, Carlson said.

Spata declared the commission can consider the case settled and asked that the planning commission return in 30 days, after all the documents were signed.

The problems started at Stillwell in November of 2013, after several residents’ wells dried up because CEMEX stopped filling the recharge trench that maintained their water levels. The multi-national   corporation initially refused to fill the recharge trench because someone stole the wiring to the pumps that transferred the water from their pond. CEMEX tried to blame the drought for the dry wells, but got called out on their false allegations by a peer report conducted by the consulting firm Tully and Young. Soon after the peer report the lawyers took over the case.

With a signed agreement between the residents, CEMEX and the RMA imminent, everything is status quo until reclamation of the mine begins or until CEMEX decides to turn off the pumps. Currently the water from the 50-foot-deep, 30-acre pond, created by CEMEX’ mining activities, fills the recharge trench and lowers the pond. The pond then refills with water from the underground aquifer and the process starts again–proving the point that outside consultants, local water experts and the community  have said all along: that CEMEX’ mining activities drained its neighbors’ wells.

Anticipating more legal trouble, CEMEX also started filling the recharge trench next to their Lemon Cove Facility. CEMEX did not speak to these affected residents, and were not ordered to so by RMA; they just, out of the blue, started up the pumps. Once CEMEX filled that recharge trench, the neighbors’ wells went back to normal. The farmers and residents who live next to CEMEX’ Lemon Cove Facility, about a mile northwest of Stillwell, have experienced problems with their wells for years, allegedly because of CEMEX’ mine. They were not part of the public hearing or the settlement.

Even with a signed agreement, the Stillwell mine neighbors’ property values have been cut in half while they have incurred about $20,000 in expenses. The ordeal for the families living next to the Stillwell mine has not just been dealing with the lack of water, but trying to coordinate their jobs and families with going to hearings and meetings, finding a lawyer and effectively documenting the details of their wells going dry–all with very limited financial resources.

Of the affected homes, one head of the household is on home dialysis, another is blind and another couple is extremely elderly with a range of health problems. One family just gave up and left, incurring huge losses to their property as it has become unsellable. Right now the home has water but that could stop any day, depending on whether CEMEX decides to keep the pumps running.

The affected residents are hopeful that the RMA shoulders this huge responsibility next time and that the Tulare County Planning Commission prevents this from happening in the future by ensuring that CEMEX never mines gravel in the county again.

Because the negotiations are still confidential, neither Spata nor the lawyers could answer any of the planning commission’s questions. During this lengthy process it is unclear what role the planning commission has played in helping the affected residents, except to provide a venue for both sides to air their grievances. Once lawyers get involved the planning commission’s hands seem to be tied and they are unable to impart their land use wisdom or have any say in the agreement.

CEMEX is close to making all their legal problems go away with Stillwell and the Lemon Cove Facility–just in time for them to ask for another mining permit, this time at McKay Point. Carlson was asked what happens if CEMEX gets the mining permit at McKay Point then turns off the pumps.

“Then the whole process starts all over,” he said.

The next planning commission meeting concerning the settlement will be Wednesday, May 13.

The post CEMEX and Residents Continue Negotiations Over Dry Wells appeared first on Valley Voice.

Tully and Young, an independent consulting group, responded in February of this year to CEMEX’ assertion. They reported that, “the shallow groundwater aquifer at the quarry site is isolated from the broader groundwater elevation concerns in the rest of Tulare County or the San Joaquin Valley. A figure presented in the Final Memo (p.17) generated using a Department of Water Resources groundwater information tool, demonstrates that the Lemon Cove area actually has seen a general increase in groundwater conditions between spring 2013 and spring 2014. The specific conditions at the neighboring wells, however, saw the opposite condition during this same period.”

Tully and Young’s report explains why, during this statewide drought, not one well in Lemon Cove has gone dry nor lost elevation–that is except the four wells next to CEMEX’ Stillwell gravel mine.

Mitchell’s assertions were uttered again at the February 25 continuation of the public hearing concerning CEMEX and the effected residents.  This was the second hearing in a process that was started last December 10. The first hearing included three and a half hours of presentations and testimonies over who was at fault for the wells going dry, the future of CEMEX’ conditional use permit, and appropriate compensation for the residents’ losses.

Mike Spata, director of Resource Management Agency (RMA), started the February 25 hearing by informing the planning commission that CEMEX and the four effected residents had entered into negotiations and seemed to be making progress. He said that lawyers for both sides have been talking and exchanging documents. He recommended that the Planning Commission give the process 30 more days to see if they can reach a settlement. Mitchell and Ray Carlsen, the lawyer for the residents, concurred with Spata.

The planning commission thus voted unanimously to extend the public hearing for 30 days. The next hearing is scheduled for April 8 at 9am in the supervisors’ chambers. Public comment is welcome.

According to Carlsen, the two lawyers met once in early January, and then right after the second public hearing on February 25. Spata participated in both as a mediator. Carlsen was optimistic that the residents had a shot at settling.

Carlsen said that it’s a good time for the effected residents  to put together a settlement offer. He doesn’t trust CEMEX to get it done, or do a sufficient job, so he planned on taking the initiative. Carlsen will be meeting with the residents on the afternoon of March 8, when he will present a draft agreement that the families can review and amend, Carlsen will then present their proposed settlement to CEMEX, which CEMEX is expected to counter. Carlsen predicted that neither side will be happy with the final settlement.

All negotiations between the residents and CEMEX are confidential so both sides can talk freely between themselves. Possible terms of the settlement include digging each home a deeper well, financial compensation for their expenses, or digging a well by Terminus Dam and running a pipe to the homes. The idea of connecting to the Lemon Cove Sanitation District was suggested but the pipes are more than a mile away. The aforementioned terms are all poor solutions.  Digging new wells may produce no water and compensating the residents for their expenditures doesn’t address the loss of their life’s investment, which for most is their home. CEMEX’ mining activities have left the homes without water and thus worthless.

During public comment, Woodlake’s Julie Bigham, who lives close to the Lemon Cove facility, asked the planning commission what their end game was. “What happens when the water is turned off, the mine goes idle, or CEMEX’ permit gets revoked? What happens then? You have to disclose all this if you want to sell your home and their homes are permanently branded.” She said that modifications can be done but once settled, the residents won’t have as much say so or any recourse if it happens again.

Rob Morton, the only effected resident who could juggle his work schedule to attend the hearing, reiterated the fact that CEMEX was blatantly lying about the drought being the cause of the wells going dry. Not a stones’ throw away from his house is a 30 acre pond 50-feet-deep full of water, now and all through the summer, created by CEMEX’ mining activities. He also reminded the commission that most Tulare County families do not have the resources to take off work to attend meetings and hearings and fight multi-national companies, nor should they have to.

Morton’s main question was what happens if the resident’s settle and then CEMEX leaves or executes a faulty reclamation of the property. He wanted to know what guarantee the county would give them, as the issuer of the mining permit, that they would enforce the conditional use permits.

“I don’t want to go through this again. This has been nothing less than Hell,” said Morton.

Resolving the Problem

Carlsen explained that there are only two ways to settle the issue. One, negotiations, where each party has control over the process or two, litigation, where control is given up to a judge and jury.

But the residents who live along the Lemon Cove facility, a gravel mine taken over by CEMEX, don’t agree. Their opinion is that the RMA recommended approving the mine, the planning commission put together the conditional use permit, and the supervisors voted on it. Thus the county is ultimately responsible.  In every instance where mining in the aquifer was proposed, there was expert testimony and appeals against it. The consequences of digging in the county’s aquifer have been debated and proven since the first disastrous Artesia mine in Dry Creek in the 1960’s. For 50 years Tulare County residents have told the supervisors how mining in the riverbed has ruined their properties and sometimes their lives, but the supervisors continue to approve their permits.

Carlsen concurs that digging in the aquifer is a bad idea. He said that nature made the river basins perfect underground filters where the water can easily flow. He said that problems have been plaguing these mines that dig up the aquifer for years, and that this case is just one little piece of a bigger problem. “The problem is that the planning commission puts together all these conditions for the use permit, then just puts it on a shelf and forgets about them. No one is enforcing them.” According to the conditional use permit for the Stillwell mine, CEMEX was supposed to be providing data every month to the RMA on water levels in the wells. If CEMEX had been complying to their conditional use permit, and the RMA had enforced the conditions, the resident’s wells would have never gone dry.

Spata has defended the RMA, saying that the agency has acted on the matter as quickly as the process has allowed, which is true. The Tulare County residents’ point is that RMA should have not let the situation happen in the first place.

A grandmother who lives next to the Lemon Cove Facility said that it’s sad that those residents who don’t have the money to hire a lawyer could lose everything. Because CEMEX has unlimited resources with which to fight, the little guy is always forced to settle. Even a wealthy person could not afford to take CEMEX to court. CEMEX, by comparison, has limitless funds to just wait the little guy out until they die or run out of money. The Lemon Cove Facility neighbors have been fighting–first RMC Pacific Materials, and now CEMEX–for 20 years over their wells going dry because of mining activities.

As for the residents living next to the Stillwell mine, it was a local benefactor who fronted the money to pay Carlsen’s $250 hourly fee, an amount that few of the plaintiffs make in a week. Many wonder why it has fallen on the shoulders of such modest Tulare County residents to fight a multi-national company to get it to comply with a permit issued by the county. Carlsen pragmatically says that, as is always the case, the residents next to the Stillwell mine will have to settle. “Who is going to pay to take CEMEX court? Something is better than nothing.”

CEMEX Begins Filling V-Trench at Lemon Cove Facility

Although the Lemon Cove Facility is not part of the equation in this round of negotiations, CEMEX has realized they need to deal with the wells that have lost water at this mine also. Without any advance notice, and no recent discussion, CEMEX started to fill the recharge trench that runs next to the Lemon Cove Facility. Frank Callahan, who has not been able to fully irrigate his citrus since CEMEX shut off their pumps, is at the beginning of the recharge trench that runs west to east. His well went up eight feet in a matter of days. Nancy Long, who lives further up the trench, had her well go up by two feet.

The trench built at the Lemon Cove Facility was a trial case to see if it would maintain the neighbors’ well water levels, and it worked. That is how CEMEX knew that when they turned off the pumps at the Stillwell mine the resident’s wells would go dry. The drought, for CEMEX, was just a happy coincidence.

George Clausen, who has also been fighting the adverse effects of mining in the Kaweah River aquifer for 30 years, said that CEMEX won’t talk to them. There was no warning or explanation why they started filling the recharge trench. The Lemon Cove Facility processes gravel but no longer functions as a mine. A local farmer’s theory is that CEMEX waits and sees how much they can get away with until their lawyers sound the alarm that they could get sued. The farmer, whose agriculture wells have lost half of their water, thinks that after the Fresno Bee article came out blaming CEMEX for the dry wells that the company lawyers realized, “maybe we should do something. This is getting widely known.”

Reclamation Plans Need to Be Reassessed

Including the Lemon Cove facility in the settlement negotiations was contemplated because both sets of farmers and residents had depleted wells because of CEMEX’ mines. But the Lemon Cove facility has one huge glaring difference from the Stillwell mine. The Lemon Cove Facility consists of two mines–an older, larger mine, and a newer, smaller one–but both were approved without an Environmental Impact Report. When the older mine got its permit, EIRs were not mandatory. Then, because no EIR had been done on the older mine, the newer mine got approved under a negative declaration, meaning an EIR was not deemed necessary. The end result is that neither have a feasible reclamation plan.

The first thing out of Mitchell’s mouth, after blaming the drought, was the fact that he didn’t think it was necessary to reexamine the reclamation plans. “There is no evidence that the reclamation plan won’t work.” Clausen has been fighting an uphill battle for the RMA or Board of Supervisors to force CEMEX to update their reclamation plans. Because there is no EIR, he wants something on paper explaining how CEMEX plans to restore the property to what it was before the mine arrived. He also wants there to be sufficient financial reassurances in case CEMEX botches the job.

CEMEX’ delaying tactics seem to have worked, as reassurances and review of the reclamation plan has not been yet put on the table. The gravel mining company does not want to revise their reclamation plans because to really reclaim property would costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and reassurances should be the same. Right now the money set aside to fix a botched reclamation job by CEMEX is a paltry $52,588.78.

The Next Step

CEMEX might be asking for a new mining permit at McKay Point by the end of this year. Unless the gravel mining company can show good faith in compensating their Stillwell neighbors for their loss of property value then World War III may break out if the Tulare County Supervisors grant them one more mining permit.

The post Lemon Cove Residents, CEMEX Work on Settlement appeared first on Valley Voice.

The Tulare County Planning Commission held a public hearing December 10 to determine the future of CEMEX’ mining permit. The possible recommendations ranged from revocation to taking no action. Mike Spata, director of Resource Management Agency (RMA) started the proceedings by informing the commissioners that the amount of information concerning Stillwell Mine is voluminous. He recommended, before the hearing even started, that after all stakeholders have their say, the hearing be continued to the next planning commission meeting for further discussion.

Greg Young, an engineer from the consulting firm Tully and Young–which wrote the county’s peer review–presented their findings first. Even though their final review was 533 pages long, Young stayed focused on three conditions specified in the Stillwell mining permit.

Condition #48 states that CEMEX is to make monthly reports to the RMA about the amount of water delivered to the recharge trench. Condition #49 states that the mine cannot affect the water level, yield, or quality of any well. Condition #55 states that the recharge trench shall contain a sufficient amount of water to maintain water levels in neighboring wells.

Young presented evidence that CEMEX violated all three conditions, but that the main condition under dispute was number 49. Young added that CEMEX’ consultant, EMKO Environmental, used an incomplete set of facts and that concluding that the wells went dry due to the drought was without merit. The peer review came to the conclusion that CEMEX’ mining activities caused their neighbors’ wells to go dry.

Paul Mitchell, a lawyer for CEMEX, gave the rebuttal. Sprinkled throughout his presentation were potshots at the Valley Voice, an attempt to again discredit Tom Cairns of Lemon Cove, and accusations that the four residents whose wells had gone dry were unresponsive, difficult, uncooperative and ungrateful. While accomplishing that goal, Mitchell stressed three major points: that the domestic wells went dry because of the drought; that CEMEX has no obligation to keep the V-trench full while not actively mining; and lastly, even though CEMEX was not at fault, that the company offered to cost-share digging a new communal well. But he stated that the residents were impossible to work with and never responded to the company’s “generous” offer. Mitchell ended with, “you can lead a horse to water but, well, we all know the saying.”

An important fact not brought up during the hearing was that CEMEX withheld information from RMA and the residents that it stopped gravel production on May 13, 2013. If the company had, in fact, believed it had no legal obligation to fill the trench while not engaged in mining activities, it would have stopped filling the trench in May of 2013. Or, it would have stopped filling the trench the first time the wires were stolen from the pumps on June 17, 2013. But the company fixed the pumps and resumed filling the trench until the wires were stolen again in September. Many theories revolve around why CEMEX withheld this information, but it was clearly demonstrated that the company knew it had a legal obligation to continue filling the trench.

Dr. Andrew Kopania, principal hydrogeologist for EMKO Environmental, came to the podium and added to Mitchell’s presentation by saying that, “just because you see an effect doesn’t mean there is one.” He reiterated that CEMEX’ mining activities had had no effect on the residents’ wells.
Sometime during Mitchell’s presentation, planning commission chair, Ed Dias, asked if CEMEX would be willing to dig deeper wells for each of the four residents. Mitchell responded with a very hesitant “yes.”

Rob Morton’s presentation summed up all the salient points of the hearing. He and his wife bought their property next to the future Stillwell mine in 2001. They were sold by the beautiful view, which is now blocked by a 15-foot weed-infested berm, and the reliable aquifer, which is now compromised.

They have two grandchildren in their home, and Mrs. Morton has to undergo daily dialysis at home that requires complete sanitation. Morton choked-up when describing the hardship his wife goes through several times a week doing home dialysis without water. Their well went dry soon after CEMEX stopped filling the V-trench in September 2013. All of their landscaping and fruit trees died, and they had to send the kids to a friend’s house to bathe. Morton spent $7,000 of his own money to provide enough water to the house to shower once a week and occasionally wash the dishes.

“Ever since CEMEX stopped filling the recharge trench, it has been a battle to get the problem resolved,” he said. The residents wrote letters, spoke before the board of supervisors, and met with CEMEX representatives. He acknowledged that CEMEX offered to cost-share drilling a communal well that– after digging, laying the pipes, hooking up to each home, and metering–would easily cost over $100,000. CEMEX offered to contribute $12,000.

Mitchell repeated several times that the neighbors were ungrateful and unresponsive to the company’s offer. He neglected to point out that none of the residents were financially able to pay their share of the remaining $88,000–some $22,000 each–even if they wanted a communal well. Besides the many pitfalls associated with the offer, there was also the possibility that a deeper well would not produce water. Lemon Cove has not been affected by the drought, and the community is served by a very dependable aquifer, but it is shallow. Digging deeper wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem.

Morton ended on a very emotional note, saying it has been very upsetting and stressful to sit and watch his family suffer just because CEMEX had not complied with their permit. “And that has been proven here today.”

Ken Schmidt, a professional hydrologist who has worked previously for the county, stated that CEMEX’ own data proves that the recharge trench works. He also agreed with the conclusions of Tully and Young’s peer review that the gravel mine is fully to blame for the neighboring domestic wells going dry. Dias asked Schmidt if digging deeper wells would solve the problem. Said Schmidt, “we could hit water or not at all. No one alive is going to know that until we drill.”

Frank Callahan, a neighbor of CEMEX’ Lemon Cove Facility–a stone’s throw from Stillwell–is experiencing the same problem. He was one of the last residents to give testimony. Spata mentioned at the beginning of the hearing that the Lemon Cove Facility might be considered for discussion during this public hearing. It was no surprise when Mitchell adamantly disagreed. The concept of a recharge trench had been tested at the Lemon Cove facility and proven that it kept neighboring wells at normal levels. CEMEX knew from its experience at the Lemon Cove Facility that when it stopped filling the recharge trench at Stillwell, the neighboring domestic wells would go dry. Some residents who live next to the Lemon Cove Facility contend it was intentional what CEMEX did, and not only feel that the company should lose its permit, but should face criminal charges.

Callahan has irrigated his citrus grove since the biggest drought in the state in 1977 with no problems, until mining started in the aquifer right next to his property. George Claussen, another neighbor of the Lemon Cove Facility, had a similar experience. His parents planted a citrus grove in 1905 that had never been affected by the several severe droughts during the last 100-plus years, until mining started in the Kaweah River aquifer. When the recharge trench was kept full, their wells went back to pre-mining levels. Now that CEMEX has also stopped filling their trench, just as it did at Stillwell, the local farmers have struggled to irrigate their groves. The local farmers are hoping that the planning commission does something about their water problems after it concludes the public hearings about Stillwell.

The most telling element of the public hearing was the fact that the affected residents spoke on their own behalf–even enlisting an hydrologist with no skin in the game–while no one from CEMEX spoke for CEMEX. Instead, the company hired an expert, Kopania, who has been labeled by a peer as a “hired hydro-geologic prostitute,” and a lawyer, Mitchell, with a major ax to grind, to present their case.

After three-and-a-half hours of presentations and testimonies, it was decided that the hearing would be continued to the February 25 planning commission meeting. Chairman Dias stated that it seemed to him that CEMEX and the residents weren’t that far apart in terms of a settlement; Spata echoed that sentiment, and was hopeful that by February the planning commission would be voting on the details of an agreement. A possible settlement could include digging new wells for each resident, reimbursing them for their expenses, and compensating them for the loss in value to their properties. If no settlement is reached before that time, the planning commission will make their final decision next year and it will be passed on to the board of supervisors.

When stacked, the amount of documentation sits about three feet high–yet the issue at hand was boiled down into one simple sentence uttered by Rob Morton: “Why are our wells dry and that pit is full of water?” CEMEX has not deigned to answer that question, but the residents living next to the Stillwell Mine pray that the Tulare County Planning Commission does.

The post Stillwell Mine Public Hearing Attracts Big Crowd appeared first on Valley Voice.

At stake is not just CEMEX’ mining permit at Stillwell, but any future mining permit the multi-national might seek. At this time, the Tulare County Planning Commission will only be making a decision concerning the Stillwell mine. But how CEMEX comports itself in view of the violations of their conditional use permit, and how willing the company is to fairly compensate the four residents for their property’s loss in value, will determine if Tulare County residents will ever allow CEMEX to operate in this county again.

According to the Resource Management Agency (RMA), the following actions may be taken by the Tulare County Planning Commission at the conclusion of the hearing: the planning commission might revoke or modify CEMEX’ permit # 98-003 for possible violations of the permit conditions; the commission may also recommend litigation against CEMEX, or impose fines and penalties in relation to the damage done to the Stillwell mine’s neighbors; or the planning commission may find that CEMEX is not in violation of its permit and recommend that no action be taken.

Because of the serious nature of the violations, the public hearing might be continued for an additional day to discuss issues that may come up in the first hearing and to guarantee that everyone has their say. After the possible second meeting, the Planning Commission will make a decision and present it to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. The board of supervisors will then vote on the commission’s recommendation. If the effected parties do not agree with the final decision they can make an appeal.

Not yet on the table are CEMEX’ violations of its conditional use permit at the Lemon Cove facility. Several residents’ wells next to the Lemon Cove facility have dropped in elevation by half, and the neighboring farmers have not been able to irrigate their citrus groves. A separate public hearing will be proposed to negotiate compensation for these Tulare County residents.

A week before the public hearing was formally announced, a representative from CEMEX called Rob Morton, one of the neighbors of the Stillwell mine whose well went dry. The CEMEX representative said that he had arranged a conference room in Three Rivers and wanted to present either a proposal or legal document to the residents. The representative told Morton he had two days to organize the four affected residents for the meeting. Morton politely declined.

Earlier in the year, the four homeowners living next to Stillwell mine did meet with a CEMEX lawyer in the chambers of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. The lawyer had a contract ready to go and encouraged the residents to sign on the dotted line. The legally binding agreement would have waived the residents’ right to sue CEMEX in exchange for $20,000 to go for a new community well. Seeing as a community well would have cost around $120,000, and would have been an organizational nightmare, the residents politely declined CEMEX’ generous offer.

Sometime in 2015, CEMEX will be coming before the Tulare County Board of Supervisors to request another mining permit at McKay Point. Tulare Irrigation District (TID) took three years to hammer out a contract with the multinational to mine the gravel and help finance the building of a 4,000-acre-foot reservoir at McKay Point. If CEMEX balks at fully compensating the Stillwell mine neighbors for expenses and lost value to their properties, and ignores the needs of the farmers living next to the Lemon Cove facility, then TID might be forced to find a new partner. According one local, “TID is going to have to look for someone else to dig up their gravel because it’s not going to be CEMEX.”

The public hearing will be taking place in the chambers of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, Administration Building, County Civic Center, 2800 W. Burrel, Visalia. For further information regarding the hearing, call Chuck Przybylski, planner III, at 624-7000.

CEMEX Withdraws Faulty Interim Management Plan

Transparency has not been CEMEX’ modus operandi, and will be a major stumbling block for the multi-national when it comes looking for future permits. On May 13, 2013–unbeknownst to the mine’s neighbors or RMA–CEMEX stopped production at the Stillwell mine. This fact was not disclosed until the day CEMEX submitted its Interim Management Plan (IMP). An IMP is required one year and 90 days after a mine has ceased production in order for a mine to be declared idle and not abandoned. If Stillwell mine were declared abandoned, CEMEX would have been required to start the reclamation process immediately. Reclamation could cost the gravel mining company hundreds of thousands of dollars and may have motivated CEMEX to submit an IMP.

In exactly one year and 90 days after stopping production at Stillwell mine, Benchmark Resources, a consulting company hired by CEMEX, submitted a draft IMP document to the RMA. Mike Spata, director of the RMA, determined that, for a myriad of reasons, Stillwell mine did not meet the conditions to designate the mine as idle and their application was denied. CEMEX had 30 days to respond to the county’s findings. In their response they agreed with many of Spata’s findings and withdrew their IMP.

If CEMEX had been successful in getting the mine declared idle they could have stretched their permit out for another ten years without doing any reclamation. The question about whether, or when, CEMEX needs to submit another IMP is not clear.
Because the mine did not qualify as idle, it should have been declared abandoned and CEMEX should have been directed to start the reclamation process. But because RMA rejected the IMP, and CEMEX in turn withdrew their application, the mine’s status wallows in legal limbo. Now it is up to the lawyers to determine when, how–and if–an IMP should be submitted. This could take years. Either way, CEMEX has achieved its goal of avoiding costly reclamation–for now.

The post Public Hearing December 10 on CEMEX Permit appeared first on Valley Voice.

That all changed when CEMEX came to town. In September 2002, the Tulare County Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved a mining permit for CEMEX to lease 496 acres of Donald and David Stillwell’s property. The name stuck and the mine became the Stillwell Quarry. A 137-acre portion in the middle of the parcel was to be mined for gravel. A condition of CEMEX’ permit was to construct a recharge trench and continually keep it full of water. This trench was to counteract the effects of CEMEX’ digging into the aquifer for gravel and disrupting the water flow to residents’ wells. The Morton’s, Rodriguez’, Clouds’ and Josh Packard’s homes border the Stillwell Quarry.

In September of 2013, CEMEX stopped filling the recharge trench and by December of last year, the four residents’ wells went dry or nearly dry. Repeated requests by the four residents to the BOS to force CEMEX to refill the trench only resulted in several contradicting studies and finger pointing, but no water. After months of bad publicity, during which the company engaged in a losing battle to blame the drought, CEMEX abruptly and unexpectedly started filling the recharge trench. After three months of trying to refill the trench, only two houses of the four have water, the Mortons’ and the Rodriguez’. Josh Packard and Orville and Mary Cloud still do not have enough water to run a load of dishes or take a shower. When CEMEX decides to leave Tulare County and the recharge trench goes permanently dry, the four homes will be permanently without water.

The list of expenses incurred when each house lost water for 10 months varied by the size of the house, yard and family. The Mortons have an acre-and-a-half of lawn, landscaping and fruit trees, a two-bedroom home and two children. Their expenses ranged from having to replace their pump to hauling water to their home to trips to the laundromat and friends’ homes so the children could bathe. They spent over $7,000.

But more than the expense of dealing with a dry well was the pain and suffering experienced by Sissi, who has a chronic kidney disease. She needs daily peritoneal dialysis, which she does at home and requires clean water. The stress of providing clean water for his wife’s dialysis with a dry well was very emotionally and physically stressful.

The Rodriguezes have two children but a smaller parcel of land. Their expenses were around $4,000 for the ten months their well went dry. The other two homes spent approximately the same but still have dry wells.

The larger expense is the depreciation in value of the four homes. Not only did all four homes lose their reliable source of water, but they also lost their beautiful view of grazing fields, foothills and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Before CEMEX started producing gravel they built an 18-foot berm to shield the homes from the noise. CEMEX then decided to construct the recharge trench on top of the berm.

Mark Avedian, of Avedian Properties, said that a house would lose half of its value if it lost its view and did not have a reliable water source. Another realtor said that if a resident’s well goes dry it would cost at least $20,000 to dig a new well. But with the underground aquifer being sucked into the ponds created by the gravel mine pits, a new well, no matter how deep, may not produce water.

The Mortons’ home was recently appraised at $120,000. If the home value went down by half as a result of the Stillwell Quarry, that would mean a loss of $60,000. When including the out-of-pocket expenses, that would be a total of $67,000. The other three homes are on smaller plots and of differing ages and size, and range in appraisal between $60,000 and $80,000. The total losses for all three homes would be around $120,000.

A letter written September 29 by the Tulare County Farm Bureau states, in part, “…we believe CEMEX should be accountable for the damages done to people and property near the Stillwell plant site operations, and be compelled to make them whole.” When taking account of all of the damages done by the Stillwell Mine to the four homes, the total would be approximately $180,000.
The residents are considering taking legal action if Tulare County, which issued the permit, and CEMEX, which operates the mine, do not provide adequate compensation for their financial loss and pain and suffering.

The post Homeowners Bordering Stillwell Mine Want Compensation appeared first on Valley Voice.

On the second front, it is in danger of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors (TCBOS) declaring Stillwell Mine abandoned. CEMEX’ Stillwell Mine has been out of production for more than the allotted time allowed by its permit, and its consultants submitted a deficient Interim Management Plan (IMP) that was initially rejected by the Resource Management Agency (RMA). CEMEX has 30 days from the rejection letter to respond.

Public Hearing on Permit Violations

A public hearing will be held by the Tulare County Planning Commission in early December to address possible violations of CEMEX’ permit. Public response was to be submitted by September 30, and the hearing to take place no later than November, but it was delayed due to a request from CEMEX to collect more data. Public comment on all issues related to the Stillwell Mine and the Lemon Cove Facility, both operated by CEMEX, were accepted until October 31 and included in the peer review currently being put together by RMA Director Mike Spata.

CEMEX requested more time to collect the information being recorded on the dataloggers placed in domestic wells that line the east side of the Stillwell Mine. The dataloggers track the depth and quality of the groundwater in domestic wells around the mine. Residential wells began going dry late last year, when, in violation of their mining permit, CEMEX stopped pumping water from their ponds into the recharge or V-trench. Farmers who live near the Lemon Cove Facility, about a mile away, are having similar problems with their wells and struggle to irrigate their citrus groves.

Condition number 49 of CEMEX’ mining permit states that, “The project shall not affect the water level, yield or quality of any well.” Ironically, the dataloggers installed into residents’ wells in late August will be the definitive proof that CEMEX broke this condition. Information gleaned from the dataloggers shows that when CEMEX keeps the V-trench filled, residents’ wells return to normal; when they don’t, the wells go dry.

Yet in a hydrology report commissioned by CEMEX last February, the geohydrologist blamed the drought for the wells next to the Stillwell Mine going dry. In a peer review done by Tully and Young five months later, and commissioned by Tulare County’s RMA, CEMEX was found to be the culprit for the wells going dry. The peer review and public hearing in December will be the final judge whether the wells went dry because of the drought or because CEMEX stopped filling the recharge trench.
Notice of the Planning Commission’s Public Hearing will be given at least ten days in advance. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Stillwell Mine Might be Declared Abandoned

It was recently disclosed that CEMEX had stopped production at the Stillwell Mine on May 17, 2013. Until this October, Lemon Cove residents and neighbors were left to guess about the status of the mine. Because CEMEX stopped mining, it was required to submit an IMP by August 15, 2014 to prevent the county from declaring the mine abandoned. On exactly August 15, Benchmark Resources, a consulting company hired by CEMEX, submitted what Spata referred to as a draft IMP document. Despite the rules stating that CEMEX’ IMP should have already been pending in front of the TCBOS, the multinational did hand in something with “IMP” in the title. That sufficed to forestall the county from declaring the mine abandoned.

For a mine to be considered idle, three conditions must be met: 1) Production is curtailed in the last year of operation by 90% of the mine’s most productive year; 2) An IMP must be submitted by one year and 90 days after the last day of production; and 3) The operator intends to resume operations.

Spata reviewed Benchmark Resource’s 246-page document, containing missing and incorrect data, then cited three major reasons why RMA was rejecting CEMEX’ IMP. In Spata’s response letter, he stated that the appropriate application was not filled out and Benchmark did not pay the application fees. Secondly, CEMEX extracted more gravel than allowed in 2013 to be considered idle. Lastly, CEMEX did not provide a plan for maintaining residents’ water levels in their wells while the mine was idle. Benchmark has until November 13 to respond.

Knowing Spata wouldn’t tell me, I asked his opinion on the quality of Benchmark Resources’ document. “I can’t comment on the quality of the IMP. But we stated in our letter that it was deficient.”

Though hurriedly put together and of questionable quality, two glaring reasons stand out why CEMEX bothered to even submit an IMP. One was to attempt to circumvent the conditions of its mining permit. A second was to avoid the cost of reclamation.
CEMEX declared its intent in the IMP to resume mining at Stillwell. It won’t give a date, but says that the plan outlined in their IMP covers the initial five years allowed. A subsequent five-year extension may be requested by CEMEX, which would extend the idle designation until 2024.

Those living at ground zero are very skeptical that CEMEX will resume production again. In 2002, local mining experts looked at the Stillwell property and didn’t think there was enough gravel to be worth the effort in the first place. According to Tom Cairns, owner of a small mining operation in Lemon Cove, the last load of gravel out of Stillwell in May of 2013 only had 20% usable gravel.

If TCBOS declares the mine abandoned, CEMEX must start reclamation immediately–and that could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not so, according to their Financial Assurances document. CEMEX claims in this document that reclamation will only cost $52,588.78. But that’s just Starbucks money for a corporation like CEMEX, and won’t even come close to making the property whole again.

I’m not an expert on gravel mining, so I don’t know how it is to their advantage to stretch Stillwell out 10 years–but CEMEX knows, and obviously has a plan.

Another reason CEMEX submitted an IMP was to get out of playing by the rules. Benchmark Resources wrote in their report, “The use permit includes 93 conditions of approval (COA). No COA’s apply to the site maintenance during idle periods.” Spata’s response to Benchmark’s assertions was a bit of a verbal smack down. He corrected the consultants by saying that, yes, in fact, CEMEX does have to comply with all of the Conditions of Approval, even when idle, as stated in California law, and as stated in its reclamation plan.

Benchmark Resources’ justification for idling Stillwell is the supposed reduced demand for construction aggregates. But according to the Business Journal, “Northern Tulare County was shown to have….27 million tons of permitted reserves. That represents 22% of the area’s 50-year demand of 124 million tons.” Claiming that the demand for aggregate materials has gone down, when Tulare County can only supply 22% of their need, might be a false pretence to idle/shutdown the mine without having to pay for reclamation.

The Document

When Spata’s only comment was that CEMEX’ IMP was “deficient,” he was being overly kind. Out of their 246-page document, approximately three pages were devoted to talking about its actual plan for the mine while idle. The tome did have an unintelligible table of contents, appendices A and B, tables, exhibits, irrelevant pictures of an old labor camp that has nothing to do with the mine, many duplicate maps, all with inaccurate boundary lines, and 86 pages printed straight from CA.Gov of prevailing wages and the price of equipment rentals. After reading through the document, I couldn’t tell you precisely what CEMEX’ plan was, but I could tell you that in 2008 the prevailing wage in Marin County was $10.12 an hour.

It’s important to point out the incestuous relationship between all the players involved with the Stillwell Mine, the Lemon Cove facility, and all the so-called independent professional firms CEMEX hires. EMKO Environmental, which did the original peer review, Resource Design, which wrote the reclamation plan, Mitchell Chadwick, the law firm, and Benchmark Resources, are all in bed with CEMEX–and with each other. The lawyer’s and consultant’s slick websites and big titles all give an air of impartiality and independence. But the Mexican-owned cement company says they “retain” each firms’ services. These firms are not hired to be impartial nor to aid the multinational in complying with the conditions of their permit. They are hired and paid to say what CEMEX tells them to say.

Residents’ Wells Returning to Normal? Yes and No

A recent letter from CEMEX’ lawyer to Spata states, “…as you know, CEMEX started filling the V-ditch starting September 2nd.” The letter goes on to say that one of the problems with filling the ditch is its porous material. But that doesn’t explain why it has taken two months. And if it does take two months or more, then CEMEX should never let the trenches go dry.

The Mortons, who own the first house to benefit from the V-ditch, got water in mid-October. Their well water level rose from 16.5 feet down to their pre-Stillwell level of 5 feet. They can now take showers and do laundry like any normal household. Elias Rodriguez’ well just returned to pre-Stillwell Mine levels during the last week of October, nearly two months after CEMEX tried to fill the V-trench. Their well went dry late December 2013, and for almost a year Rodriguez had to haul large containers of water to his house just to cover the bare minimum of his family’s needs. The two other homes, those of Josh Packard and Mary and Oroville Cloud, still do not have water.

In accordance with their permit, CEMEX is required to keep the V-trench full whether mining or not. When CEMEX stopped pumping water from the pits it created while mining to the recharge trench, it caused significant financial damage to the four families whose wells went dry as a result. Not only was it a financial and emotional burden on the families, but their homes lost all value. Rob Morton bought a home six years ago with a beautiful view and one of the most reliable wells in California. CEMEX changed everything and now the Mortons have neither. (An article in Valley Voice’s next issue will list the financial expenses and the lost value in their homes.)

The Tulare County Farm Bureau wrote a blistering critique of CEMEX that touched upon the idea of compensation. “We believe CEMEX should be accountable for the damages done to people and property near the Stillwell plant site operations, and be compelled to make them whole. Slanderous comments made by legal representation of the mining operation towards neighbors and their properties should be discontinued and the record corrected to the extent it contains falsehoods.”
I asked Cairns, who was himself slandered by CEMEX’ lawyers, what he thought the chances of an apology were. “I’m not holding my breath,” he said.

The post CEMEX Fights For Its Life appeared first on Valley Voice.

From the Sierra Nevada Mountains flows the Kaweah River. This river can rage through the Valley creating floods, or more commonly, be reduced to a trickle in the summer months even before it was dammed in 1962. About a mile north of Sequoia Union Elementary School and 2.5 miles south of Woodlake is an isolated area called McKay Point where the St. Johns River splits off from the Kaweah River. This is where “mother nature made a wonderful recharge area of sand and gravel.” It is this resource that has been a magnet for gravel companies since the 1960s.

Three water companies own McKay Point and want to construct a reservoir, Tulare Irrigation District (TID), Consolidated Peoples Ditch Company (CPDC) and the Visalia and Kaweah Water Company (VKWC). They plan on paying for the construction of the $12 million reservoir by using royalties earned through mining the gravel. CEMEX has been contracted to do the work and will be monitored by TID. The 4,000-acre-foot reservoir will be used to increase irrigation runs, increase efficiency of the hydroelectric dam at Terminus, and aid in flood control. As a reference, Bravo Lake in Woodlake holds 5,000 acre-feet of water.

The September 4 issue of the Valley Voice introduced the link between McKay Point Reservoir, Stillwell Mine, and the two mines at the Lemon Cove Project. This connection runs far beyond the fact that the four sites excavate gravel. According to the Project Description, “The owners propose to initiate construction of the McKay Point Reservoir as the mining activities at the Stillwell Project are ending. As the Stillwell project ends, CEMEX’ excavation and other related equipment would move to the McKay Point Reservoir site, thereby reducing the need for duplicate sets of equipment and eliminating the cumulative impacts of combined air emissions.” It would also mean no increase in truck traffic and wear and tear on our roads. The Lemon Cove Facility’s original processing plant, built in the 1960s, has been torn down. The plant has been replaced with portable machines that crush the gravel that could be moved to the McKay Point Mine if need be.

The projects will also be linked through the use of the CEMEX’ existing ponds. As CEMEX extracts the gravel from McKay Point, the pit created will fill with water. The water will be pumped into a recharge trench and any extra will be pumped into the existing ponds at the Lemon Cove Project.

Concerns Allayed

George Clausen, who lives next to the Lemon Cove facility, knows firsthand what a mine can do to the water table. He and several other neighbors of CEMEX have had their wells go down significantly or completely dry.

A local resident lamented, “Stillwell is a real black eye for the proposed reservoir. If CEMEX can’t get a little project like Stillwell right, how are we supposed to trust them with McKay Point Reservoir?”

Because TID will be holding the mining permit, Clausen explained that the McKay Project is completely different from a typical gravel mine. The project is an irrigation district trying to make the most out of Tulare County’s limited water, versus CEMEX tying to make a buck (or a million.) “I trust an irrigation district a heck of a lot more than a gravel mining company,” said Clausen. “TID won’t do something to destroy the aquifer whereas CEMEX would.”

According to Aaron Fukuda, TID engineer, “The owners are also long-standing public and private entities within the Tulare County area with a vested interest in sustaining the viability of the area, including the ability to retain and bolster surface water supplies. The owners believe that the relationship between the parties (county, owners and Cemex) will produce the highest level of accountability such that issues will be addressed and impacts will be minimized. If the owners don’t comply with their county-issued permit, then their ability to store and better manage water by access to this storage facility will be compromised.”

TID hired Provost and Pritchard to do the EIR on McKay Point. One local wondered how the company can remain unbiased. “Their main clients are irrigation companies.” After having experienced CEMEX’ hiring of a consulting firm willing to say whatever the multi-national wanted, this is not an unfounded worry. But Provost and Pritchard is respected by stakeholders on all sides of the issue and they are not going to jeopardize their reputation to placate an irrigation company. CEMEX’ EIRs were probably “just good enough to slip by the supervisors wanting to be business-friendly, whereas Provost and Pritchard will write an honest EIR,” said Clausen.

Concerns that Remain

If McKay Point Reservoir is approved, Clausen has two major concerns. One of his concerns is the slurry wall that will go down into the aquifer between 60 and 90 feet. A slurry wall will surround the reservoir and restrict groundwater flow from entering through seepage. The wall would serve to keep the excavation in near dry condition and would also keep the reservoir empty so it would be ready for use during a flood or a spring flood release from the dam when farmers have the least need for water.

The flow of ground water is from northeast to southwest. When the slurry wall from the reservoir is connected with the silted-over ponds at the Lemon Cove facility, the aquifer between the hill bordering Dry Creek and Wutchumna Hill will be completely blocked. The aquifer feeding into Clausen’s wells won’t be affected because his farm is above the project, but anyone living west of McKay Reservoir could see their well water level drop or go dry for part of the year. There are about 30 or 40 residential and farming wells west of this area that are adjacent to the St. John’s River. They will have water in their wells when the river is running, but that only happens half the year. The underground aquifer runs all year and has the potential of being blocked by the existing mines and slurry wall.

The Lemon Cove Sanitation District well sits just above Mckay Point, .8 miles from the reservoir. This large well provides all of the water for the residents of Lemon Cove.

During a Scope Meeting put on by TID earlier this year, Del Strange, of Valley Citizens for Water, also commented on the slurry wall. He said that the slurry wall will be dead center in the throat of the Kaweah Basin. “The water that is coming underground from the dam is narrowly throated through a shallow part of the area. Bedrock is about 60’ depth, but it does not span the full width through the two mountains. Through glacial action, the area is a shallow rounded channel. The site is like putting a solid brick in the hourglass and cuts off the Kaweah Basin.”

Clausen’s second concern is evaporation. With the many open pits full of water, Clausen is concerned about the cumulative effects of evaporation. “Drive up Dry Creek and there is pond after pond left over by the Artesia Mine. Stillwell alone has 1,000 acre-feet of water in it. You are not going to find one hydrologist that says open pits are good for the aquifer. The water is better off flowing in the creeks or left underground.” The problem with evaporation from mining pits that fill with water has been pointed out to the Tulare County Supervisors since 1970, with little or no response.

During the public hearing in October of 2002 for the Stillwell Project, Dan Dooley, a lawyer speaking on behalf of the Kaweah Delta Conservation District (KDWCD) and St. John’s River Association (SJRA) stated that, “the Kaweah River Basin is in critical overdraft and the evaporative losses of up to 400 acre-feet a year from the proposed reclamation lakes needs to be mitigated. Dennis Keller, a civil engineer, also speaking on behalf of KDWCD and SJRA, said that, “the expense to the district to replace lost evaporative water would be high and a burden to the District.”

The Environmental Impact Report written in 2002 for Stillwell mine declared that there would be no significant evaporation from the ponds, thus no mitigation was required.

The flood control aspect of Mc-Kay Point Reservoir is lauded by all, but when put in historical perspective, seems like a drop in the bucket. During a hundred-year flood event, like the one in 1955, Terminus Dam, which did not exist at the time, would have been overflowing within 23 hours. Tom Cairns, spokesperson for many Lemon Cove residents, said that a friend was drilling a well, and after going down about a hundred feet hit old redwoods. That means that in Tulare County’s ancient history, redwoods were rushing down the Kaweah River from the Sequoia National Park during a major flood. During the flooding that occurred in 2002, McKay Point Reservoir could have prevented a lot of headaches and would have been a welcome asset to the community, but it’s not going to be relevant in a major event.

According to Richard Garcia, representing the local Sierra Club, flood control is good for the environment. McKay Point Reservoir would prevent the natural waterways from flooding and hold the water back until needed. Garcia’s concern is that all the stored water will be used for irrigation. “We are a delta where the rivers fan out into creeks such as the Elk Bayou, Mill Creek and Cross Creek. I would like to see a balance between recharging the creeks and the water going down the irrigation canals,” he said. Garcia did concede that all the water behind the dam is owned by the irrigation districts and that’s the water that will be filling McKay Reservoir.

Garcia pointed out that the Sierra Club has not taken a position on McKay Point Reservoir and that the local chapter supports additional water storage.

The locals, whose ability to farm has declined and whose homes have become unlivable because of gravel mining, want there to be a comprehensive study on the Kaweah River Basin before any more mining permits are approved. What has happened up until now is a piecemeal process, approving mine by mine. This process cannot gauge the cumulative effects of hundreds of acres of alluvial mining on the town of Lemon Cove, the environment, and Tulare County’s underground aquifer. But for now, the locals are taking a wait-and-see attitude, waiting to see what Provost and Pritchard has to say in their EIR report.

There is no specific date for the completion of the EIR, but TID is hoping for it before the end of the year. “Our analysis may take longer and/or the review may take longer.” said Fukuda.

The post McKay Point Reservoir Concerns Locals – Part II appeared first on Valley Voice.

It’s one step forward and two steps back for the residents who live next to the Stillwell mine in Lemon Cove. In January, several residents’ wells dried up when CEMEX stopped filling the recharge trench that maintained their water levels. The multi-national initially refused to fill the recharge trench because someone stole the wiring to the pumps that transferred the water from their pond. CEMEX then tried to blame the drought for the dry wells but got called out on their false allegations by a peer report conducted by the Tully and Young consulting firm.

In a dramatic turn of events, and with no logical reason given, CEMEX decided to turn the pumps back on and fill the trenches. Several hypotheses have been postulated by those affected as to why, but one thing is for sure, it is not going smoothly.
CEMEX was to start filling the recharge trenches on September 2. That was a Wednesday. By Thursday they were still having trouble locating their pump and getting it started. When they finally located the pumps submerged in their pond and turned them on, a faulty flip-off switch misfired and the pumps stopped barely 48 hours later. Rob Morton owns the first house in a line of four that would benefit from filling the recharge trench. But it took more than two weeks before CEMEX could get organized to fill the trench across from his house. Since that time, his well has gone from 16 feet to 11.5 feet, and his family can now take showers and do the dishes.

But by September 26, CEMEX was having more undisclosed problems and the trench across from Morton’s house went dry. His well has held steady at 11.5 feet, but his neighbors wells remained dry. Finally, on Monday, September 29–nearly a month after CEMEX was supposed to fill the trench–all four homes had running water. If CEMEX can manage to keep their pumps running, the residents’ water problems are solved–for now.

A mile away as a crow flies are two mines at the Lemon Cove Facility. The mines have ceased activity, and in violation of their permit, CEMEX shut the pumps off that filled their recharge trench. Farmers’ and residents’ wells next to the mine have dropped so low they never know from one day to the next if they will have water. As you read this article, CEMEX’ Lemon Cove Facility mining pits are brimming full of water, evaporating into the air, while farmers struggle to keep their citrus from dying. One resident hypothesized that Stillwell was getting all of the attention because of its impact on residents. The wells next to the Lemon Cove Facility that are going dry are predominantly for farming.

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors are very vocal about the loss of agriculture land to development, so it is puzzling why they allow a multi-national from Mexico to disrupt our farming industry.

“Stillwell is a huge black eye for CEMEX”

As one farmer put it, “CEMEX has blatantly violated so many of the conditions of their permit and the county has yet to force them to comply.” Another resident lamented, “You’d think that the board of supervisors would be more concerned about what is going on with the gravel mines and not just ignore what is happening since they are the ones who approved the permit. If you are running an organization like the county, you should know what is going on. They should be proactive in protecting their constituents instead of just reacting to criticism.”

The following are some of the conditions with which CEMEX does not comply.

• Condition number 55 says that the recharge trenches shall contain a sufficient amount of water to maintain water levels in neighboring wells. It does not matter if the mine is in production. It is up to CEMEX to fill the trench, and it is up to the county to make sure that they do. As one local resident said “They (the county) are the ones to give the permit. We didn’t, they did. CEMEX had no right to shut off the pumps to the recharge trenches and the county needs to take responsibility.”
• Condition number 48 says that CEMEX is to make available to the RMA data containing the amounts of water delivered to the recharge trench. When the RMA received data saying that no water was being delivered to the recharge trench, it was they who should have sounded the alarm. The recharge trenches are fenced off and inaccessible, so it should not have been left up to the residents to come to the RMA, and then complain at the Tulare County Board of Supervisor’s meetings, before something got done.
• Condition number 77 says that after a year of non-activity their operation will be deemed idle. “Within 90 days of the surface mine becoming idle, the operator shall either file an Interim Management Plan, or shall commence reclamation in accordance with the approved reclamation plan.”

The Notice of Preparation report for McKay Point Reservoir implies that mining stopped at Stillwell in May of 2013. Tom Cairns noticed that the last truckload of gravel taken over to the Lemon Cove facility was almost 80% fines and only 20% usable gravel. He was not sure of the date but that it was spring of last year. That would make the mine idle for 17 months, well beyond the time CEMEX is supposed to start reclamation. Reclamation is estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The county is the lead agency for the Stillwell Project and CEMEX is the operator. For the McKay Point Reservoir, Tulare Irrigation District (TID) is the lead agency but CEMEX is the also operator.

CEMEX does not need this black eye right now as the McKay Point Reservoir Project goes into its EIR stage of approval. And TID doesn’t need the headache. TID has put a huge amount of time, money and resources to make McKay Point Reservoir an asset to the community and an asset for future generations. TID has been accountable and completely transparent. CEMEX hides. They don’t return phone calls. They forbid anyone from entering their property, and shroud all activities and decisions in mystery. If CEMEX is not going to comply with their permit, and continues to deny all accountability, then the RMA needs to revoke their permit. CEMEX is not only endangering their current mines but may be the reason McKay Point Reservoir might not be built.

As it stands now, the residents neighboring Stillwell mine have water and the farmers next to the Lemon Cove facility have little. What we do know for sure is that we don’t know why CEMEX decided to turn the pumps on at Stillwell. Were they being neighborly, as they like to call themselves? Did they realize people were going to figure out they have been idle for 17 months and they did not want to pay for the reclamation? Is it what Pete Lo Castro, CEMEX manager, said–that they were going to resume mining, even though there wasn’t a lot of cobble there in the first place? Is it that they figured out people are watching and they better get their act together or the McKay Project will never be approved?

The post Lemon Cove Wells Slowly Regain Water After CEMEX Fills Trench appeared first on Valley Voice.

The Water Bond hasn’t even passed yet and additional water storage is already in the works for Tulare County. A 4,000-acre-foot reservoir is being planned south of Woodlake and next to Lemon Cove where the St. Johns River and the Kaweah River split at a location known as McKay’s Point. An Indian village used to be located there, and later, from the 1930s to the 1960s, it was a recreational spot for swimming during the day and dancing under the stars at night. Currently the site is inaccessible to the public.

Locals whose wells are going dry due to the gravel mines look at the project with trepidation. McKay’s Point Reservoir is intrinsically linked to the Stilwell gravel mine and the two Lemon Cove Projects because the reservoir will be dug in their aquifer and is starting life out as a gravel mine. Not only will it be a gravel mine–but CEMEX will be doing the mining. CEMEX has not been a good neighbor to local landowners and, in a recently released peer review by Tully and Young, CEMEX was found to be possibly at fault for many of Lemon Cove residents’ wells going dry.

So how do we know CEMEX will follow the provisions in their conditional use permit and their contract with the owners of the property?

The crucial difference between the Lemon Cove gravel mines and McKay’s Point Reservoir is that CEMEX is not running the show, the property owners are. McKay’s Point is owned by three veterans in the water industry: Tulare Irrigation District (TID), Consolidated Peoples Ditch Company (CPDC) and Visalia and Kaweah Water Company. All three have owned water rights in the Kaweah River basin since the 1800s. It took CEMEX and the ditch and irrigation companies three years to pound out all the legalities and put them in writing in the contract.

Conversely, the owners of the land underneath the Stillwell Project and Lemon Cove Project leased their property to CEMEX, and then washed their hands of the matter. Why the property owners, along with CEMEX, were not both liable for the residents’ wells going dry is unclear.

The McKay’s Point project will not be just any reservoir, and there may not be one like it anywhere else in the country. The project has many hurdles, and probably will not come up for a vote by the supervisors until next year. But if the Tulare County Board of Supervisors approves construction, McKay’s Point will start as a gravel mine and then convert to a reservoir 10 to 20 years later. CEMEX will process the gravel at their processing plant located in the Lemon Cove Project and then sell it. The owners of the property will receive a royalty that will pay for the construction of the reservoir. CEMEX will provide the services of an excavation contractor, digging out the material to create the reservoir, and the owners will construct the appurtenant facilities to allow for water flows in and out of it. All in all, the project is projected to cost about $12 million.

“We know water and they know mining,” said James Silva, water master for CPDC. Silva said that the property owners went slowly because they didn’t know anything about mining. They sought the input of a retired mine operation manager in the area to ensure that they understood the positions and operational capabilities of the mining industry when negotiating the contract.

CEMEX won’t necessarily be mining McKay’s Point for 20 years. The agreement with CEMEX lasts for 10 years with options for extension, up to a maximum of another 10 years. If sufficient excavation has not been achieved after 15 years, the property owners may terminate the agreement. Inflationary costs are accounted for, and CEMEX must pay more in royalties as time goes by, providing an incentive to complete the excavation services in a timely fashion.

Locals fear that during the ten to 20 years that CEMEX is mining, the company will sell the water and their wells will go dry. But in this project, the fox is not guarding the hen house. CEMEX will not be in charge of the trenches, as they remain the responsibility of the property owners. Silva said that the trenches and pumps will be well taken care of, fenced off, and running regularly.

The owners’ goal is to have an empty pit ready to receive water in the event of a flood or when Terminus Dam needs to do a flood release. The water can then be stored until needed by the irrigation districts. Aaron Fukuda, head engineer for TID, also said that any extra water will not be sold “and, in one way or another, will be disposed of in a fashion where essentially all of it enters back into the underlying aquifer.”

Richard Garcia, water committee chair from the local branch of the Sierra Club, hopes that some of the stored water can be released in the natural waterways such as Elk Bayou, Mill Creek, Cross Creek and Deep Creek. Suggestions such as Garcia’s will be invited during the public comment period after the completion of the EIR. The EIR is being completed by Provost and Pritchard Consulting Group and should be done by October for internal review, then later this year for public review.

McKay’s Point Reservoir will serve two main purposes. The first and foremost is to provide storage and flood control. Tulare County’s flood events are short in duration, with most of the surplus water flowing downstream out of the Kaweah basin.

McKay’s point reservoir can capture the floodwater from a diversion point on the Kaweah River of up to 500 cubic feet per second. The reservoir could go from empty to full in four days and could repeat the process multiple times in one year. The water will be held until it can be safely released into the St. Johns or Kaweah River, or when farmers most need water in late summer.

Diverting the water during a downpour will also help prevent the creeks from flooding in Visalia. The reservoir will store Kaweah River water belonging to the owners in accordance with their long-held water rights.

The second purpose is to optimize the use of the hydroelectric power plant at Terminus Dam. TID owns 25% of the hydroelectric plant and has a vested interest in keeping the plant running all year if possible. Additional storage downstream will enable better control of releasing water from Terminus Dam and will extend the amount of time the hydroelectric power plant can run.

Because the reservoir will be dug out of a gravely, sandy area with a high water table, seepage will be unavoidable. Fukuda is predicting 500 gallons per minute to seep into the pit. The water that seeps into the pit will be pumped over the wall to the trenches. Most of the seepage will come from the bottom up because cutoff walls will be constructed while the pit is mined by CEMEX.

“Based upon initial borings we are anticipating a design that would have a wall depth of 45 feet to 90 feet,” said Fukuda. “The wall will start at about 10 to 15 feet below grade level, as it does not need to exist at heights above standing groundwater.” The walls will be built using the latest engineering technology and be injected with slurry, a thick fluid that will harden inside the walls of the reservoir making them almost impervious.

TID, CPDC and Visalia and Kaweah Water Company have an obvious vested interest in building a high quality structure that is an asset to the community. Almost all farmers are going to be in favor of increased water storage, but this project is going to get resistance from the residents whose wells might be affected “by putting a brick in the middle of the aquifer” as one farmer described it. He added, “When you disturb the underground aquifer it most likely is going to be adversely.”

Part two of the McKay Point Reservoir will review some of the concerns expressed by locals and environmentalists.

The post McKay’s Point Water Storage Proposal Concerns Lemon Cove Residents appeared first on Valley Voice.

Tully and Young concluded that EMKO Environmental did not have sufficient data to claim that CEMEX was not at fault for the wells going dry.

“Based upon the lack of historic data and reports to provide both context and a complete technical set of facts, the conclusions reached by the (hydrology) report cause-and-affect analysis of this incomplete set of facts appear without merit in many instances. As such, it is not possible to fully place blame on the current drought conditions or other external factors to explain the current groundwater level conditions being experienced by the subject properties.

Although the drought is undoubtedly a primary contributing factor, the actions of CEMEX could have caused or at least exacerbated the degraded local groundwater conditions.”

During a Tulare County Board of Supervisors meeting in July, four or five Lemon Cove residents and farmers spoke out during public comment.

They all voiced their concern that the CEMEX-hired hydrologist, Dr. Andrew Kopania, did not do the necessary research nor compile the relevant data to make any conclusions. The Tully and Young Peer Report backs up their claims.

After reading Tully and Young’s anticipated Peer Review Report, a Lemon Cove resident said that, “it was no surprise that no conclusion could be made from CEMEX’ hydrology report. It’s a case of lawyeritis, where they are not saying CEMEX did anything bad, and they not saying CEMEX did anything good. Now we are right back to square one and it will be difficult to move forward.”

Since the Peer Review Report is several hundred pages long, it is difficult to email. Paper copies are ready to be picked up by anyone interested at the RMA office at the Government Plaza.

A letter from Michael Spata, associate director for RMA, advises that interested parties have until September 30 to submit their comments regarding the Peer Review Report. All responses to the report, letters, public comments and all other documents are being complied in a staff report to be presented during a Tulare County Planning Commission Meeting where everyone will have their say.

Spata’s letter continued, “Please provide any written comments by the close of business (5:30pm) on Tuesday, September 30, 2014, to the attention of Michael C. Spata, Associate Director, Tulare County Resource Management Agency (RMA), 5961 South Mooney Boulevard, Visalia, CA 93277. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Spata by phone at (559) 624-7000, or by sending an email to MSpata@co.tulare.ca.us.”

CEMEX to Fix Pumps, Fill Recharge Trenches

The same day that RMA received Tully and Young’s Peer Review, another surprising announcement was made.
CEMEX, in a 180-degree turn around, decided to resume filling the recharge trenches next to the Stillwell gravel mine.

A letter from CEMEX’ lawyer to RMA states, “My client CEMEX has notified RMA that it intends to begin dewatering the Stillwell mine beginning on or around September 2, 2014 and discharge the pumped water to the adjacent V-ditch. To provide an accurate analysis of the effects of dewatering and filling the V-ditch on groundwater levels surrounding the Stilwell property, CEMEX will be installing downhole pressure transducers and dataloggers on its four monitoring wells adjacent to the V-ditch.”

Rob Morton, whose residential well has gone dry because of the Stillwell gravel mine, happened to be home when two CEMEX employees showed up at his house to install the datalogger.

His was one of the wells that CEMEX wanted to monitor. One of the men who showed up to install the monitor was Dr. Andrew Kopania, the principal hydrologist that wrote CEMEX’ report that exonerated the multinational from any fault.

Morton asked Kopania why CEMEX suddenly decided to fill the recharge trenches. The response was that CEMEX was going to resume mining.

Morton responded by saying that he hoped instead that CEMEX had a change of heart because the residents’ wells had gone dry. Kopania quickly corrected himself and said that their reasons for filling the trench were two-fold: one to recharge their neighbors’ wells, and the other was to dewater the ponds so CEMEX could resume mining.

“It just made me very, very suspicious when I got the letter,” said Morton. He had heard that there was no more cobble left in the mine, and if there was, it doesn’t make any sense that CEMEX would stop mining for a year when there was money to be made.

Several reasons for CEMEX’ sudden interest in dewatering the ponds have surfaced and the mystery thickens.

The projected date to start pumping water into the recharge trench was Tuesday, September 2, but possible trouble with CEMEX’ pumps might delay that until Wednesday or longer.

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