Save Van Tassel Group Updated Information

[dragonfly]

Here is a copy of an email that I just received from the group. It thought that it would be a good idea to post it for people that are interested in what is going on with the strip mine in Azusa.

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To: Friends of SaveVanTassel (SVT)
www.savethemountains.org

Re: Update on recent developments


Hi Everybody;

SVT continues in our efforts to research the issues, facilitate contact among interested parties and inform the public about the resistance to expansion of the Vulcan open face mine located between the cities of Azusa and Duarte. Several things have been happening over the last month or so, but we have been hesitant to send out an update every few days, just because things were changing pretty quickly and exact dates could not be pinned down.

Our members in Azusa have been working on organization of a petition signature drive to place a measure on the city ballot requiring an amendment to the City General Plan, which would forbid mining inside the city limits. We have an attorney with experience in municipal law who has volunteered his time to assist us, and we hope to set the time for this drive to start soon. We will either aim for the November 2006 elections or request a special election. Another option is to ask one or more of the Azusa council members if they will present a motion before the council for an Ordinance to forbid any future mining operations, without the need to have a petition drive.

On Tuesday, January 24, 2006 there was an AQMD Air Monitoring Update during the Duarte City Council
The AQMD update indicated some positive signs, and some questions that still need answers, but they sound committed to continue working on the remaining questions.

- AQMD seems to have reacted to many of our (SVT Group) comments of the Town Hall Meeting on September 21, 2005. They have expanded their monitoring activities to include not only PM-10 monitoring, but also monitoring devices for PM-2.5 particles, as well as PM-4 monitoring, which are the smaller particles more likely to be inhaled deeply into the lungs and more likely to cause serious health problems.
- AQMD officials said they have not found anything alarming, and that the Federal standards have not been exceeded. (However, they did not mention until later in the presentation that California State standards, which are tougher than Federal standards, are still being exceeded.) They did admit that we still have unhealthful air, and that it is worse in Azusa than in Duarte.
- They have now begun including wind speed and direction in their observations, and pointed out that the wind comes from the west and southwest most of the time, resulting in higher particulate levels in Azusa. The newspaper article about this meeting (SGV Tribune, January 26) mentioned that Azusa officials have not acted on the Vulcan request to expand mining by 80 acres in the foothills above Azusa (actually above Duarte, in Azusa). More correctly, Vulcan has not yet made that request, only talked about it, so Azusa cannot yet act on it.
- As suggested by SVT at the AQMD Town Hall Meeting in September, AQMD is now incorporating analysis and identification of crystalline silica in their monitoring efforts. There are no usable results yet, but that work will continue and be reported back to local officials and residents.
- The have also begun taking samples from the mine, to compare with samples collected on glass plates set out at residences in the area, and will report on this when completed.

In another effort, SVT members met on January 25 with officials in the office of Congresswoman Hilda L Solis, presenting information on the SVT mission, outreach efforts, website, slideshow presentation, petition efforts, and suggestions for the officials and SVT to continue coordination of these efforts.

Late last year, some of our SVT members did quite a bit of research into what might be done to prevent further expansion of mining in the foothills, exploring the idea of setting up a conservancy to secure funding and purchase land which will then be held as wilderness a preserve. At about that same time, an SVT member who is very interested in environmental causes, put us in touch with the director of the San Gabriel Mountains Regional Conservancy (Check their website at . The SGMRC is an umbrella group which fosters and assists smaller nature conservancies, helps to locate and secure funding, and has supported expanding areas set aside for wildlife, outdoor activities and conservation, and actually mentioned properties in the Azusa-Duarte area in a study they did in 2002.

With the success of the 350-acre parcel recently secured as a wilderness preserve by the City of Duarte efforts as a wonderful example, it seems we now have an excellent chance to do the same thing with this 300 acres. We met with the SGMRC Director to discuss the idea, and identified land which would be appropriate for conservation.

One of our SVT members spoke to the landowners, who seemed very open to the idea of working out something with our coalition and getting the land into a public ownership/public use status that would prevent future development. The SGMRC has also started the process to secure funding for purchase of this property, and has already received word of interest by the Trust for Public Lands, who help finance these types of activities.

The SGMRC Conservancy, in cooperation with the city of Duarte, will co-host a Winter Land Acquisition Workshop on Saturday/February 11, from 9 am to noon at the Duarte High School Cafeteria. This would be very helpful for anyone from Azusa or Duarte who is interested in the idea of a conservancy purchasing and administering more of the foothill property. All SVT members are urged to attend. We will be presenting our slide show (previously presented in Azusa, and promised to Duarte) as well as update images provided by the AQMD in their report on Jan 24. Our presentation will lead into ideas on what can be done in a positive way to secure and protect wilderness areas through the use of Conservancies. Topics on that subject will include:

I. Foothills Corridor Land Acquisition Projects (Past, Present, Future)

II. Highlighting the Duarte Hills Acquisition Story (Speakers/Presentation: City, Owner, and Regional Perspectives)
Lessons Learned: Success is not always easy, but creative strategies and persistence are well worth the effort.

III. Special Guest Presentation: Call of the Mountains/ Author Ann Olander presents the spectacular mountainscaping provided by the San Gabriels in our regional big, backyard.

IV. Introducing New Conservancies to the Conservancies & Land Trusts Network

V. Conservancies Resources: Insurance, Accounting, Websites

VI. Updates on Land Acquisition Projects in the Foothills Corridor, Valley,and Beyond. (Plus, review of work on securing funds)

The future still seems bright for our citizens group to build on what we have accomplished in our first year, and we are optimistic about achieving some real and lasting results.

We hope to see you all on Feb 11. If you can send us an e-mail back that you plan to be at the workshop, it will help us to arrange for the number of people who want to attend, but please show up even if you cannot RSVP

Thank you,


The SAVE VAN TASSEL group


Important!

Please note and add a favorite place or bookmark for our new website address, as mentioned in our previous updates: www.savethemountains.org

The savevantassel.com web address is no longer in use, and no longer has a link to the new website.

Our e-mail address will also be changing to: [e-mail]

Please add this to your contact list or address book to make sure your computer spam filter or antivirus software does not block any new messages from us. The address at: [e-mail] will be deleted soon.

www.savethemountains.org

[dragonfly]

Here is another update:

URGENT MESSAGE about unfair tactics by mining interests: HEARING TOMORROW!!

We just received the following information this afternoon:

Vulcan has asked the California State Mining and Geology Board to override the city of Claremont on legitimate city regulations governing land use in Claremont and force the city to allow strip mining by changing their city zoning regulations. Many environmental experts believe the Mining Board is completely under the control of the mining industry.

A public hearing on Vulcan's state appeal will be held in the City of Claremont tomorrow on February 8, 2006. We urgently ask you to contact your state representatives and ask them exercise any control they can to stop this unfair and ruthless strong-arm tactic.

State Department of Mines and Geology Hearing
6:30 PM
El Roble Intermediate School
665 N. Mountain Ave.
Claremont, CA 91711

The Claremont group opposing Vulcan has a website at
www.nominesinclaremont.org

Listed below is contact information for your governmental representatives. We suggest that faxing the letter may be more effective, since e-mails are sometimes deleted by spam blocking software, but it would not hurt to send a copy by both fax and e-mail. The fax letter gives a hard copy that must be handled and may be more likely to be read and passed along.

This issue is urgent, because the Board meets tomorrow. Please use the form letter below, modify if you like and send it right away.

Thank you

the Save Van Tassel group


____________________________________________________________________________________

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Fax: [phone]
To send an e-mail to the governor, go to www.govmail.ca.gov/
____________________________________________________________________________________

Contact Information for your federal government leaders: (enter your address on the following web page):

www.visi.com/juan/congress/index.html
____________________________________________________________________________________

Contact Information for your state legislators: (enter your zip code on the following web page):

www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset9text.htm


__________________________________________________________________________________

SAMPLE LETTER:

(date)

Attn: (name)
(address or fax number or e-mail)

Re: Mining and Geology Board action

Dear (name):

I have just heard that the Mining and Geology Board is meeting tomorrow about the issue between the City of Claremont and Vulcan Materials Co, a huge and powerful mining company that is implicated in trying to force many local governments to allow the desecration of land inside their city limits.

In Claremont, mining interests are suing to force the city to allow them to destroy land with new gravel pits in areas not zoned for strip mining. (see www.nominesinclaremont.org/)

Public sentiment is very strong in opposition to the destruction of wildlife habitat, desecrating land near schools or homes, and forever ruining areas that could be put to much better uses than digging them up and leaving them as a wasteland. Citizens are also very concerned about health dangers of the dust pollution, heavy truck traffic, noise and the destruction of their property values. But if the Mining Board is allowed to overrule the wishes of local governments and the people they represent, our state and federal governments are just not protecting us against the uncontrolled greed of powerful mining interests.

I urgently request that you please do anything you can to help prevent the Mining Board from allowing the destroying both nature and the wishes citizens have expressed through their voting rights.

Thank you very much,

(your name and address)

[dragonfly]

Another update:

www.savethemountains.org

The meeting Saturday Feb 11 in Duarte was very informative and productive. Thank you to those of you who were able to attend, and here is a short report on it for those who could not. Our apologies for only being able to provide a one week notice on the time and place, but scheduling was really down to the wire to find a place and time that worked for all the groups involved. We did notice that a fellow from the public relations firm Vulcan has hired even managed to hear of it and join us, taking lots of notes.

Presentations included a wonderfully inspiring and beautiful slide show, of incredible photographs and poetic narrative by Ann and Farley Olander, based on their book Call Of The Mountains. Both the book and the slides we saw on Saturday give such marvelous images and insights into the mountains that make up the back yard of our Southern California cities, that we feel impelled to urge you all to try and see the presentation and/or buy the book. Their website at www.callofthemountains.com gives information about the book and includes some photos from it.

Duarte City Staff members presented an excellent and informative report on the efforts leading up to the success in acquiring the 327 acre foothill property (Pacific Communities) which will now be set aside as wilderness preserve above the town. The many challenges and the creative way that were used to achieve the final result made an inspiring story which will hopefully provide an excellent example on what can now be done to secure other land for the same purpose.

The Save Van Tassel members who cooperated in organizing the Saturday meeting presented their slide show on information about the gravel quarry expansion by Vulcan Materials, with updates on recent events including the encouraging report from AQMD at the January 24 Duarte City Council Meeting. If you were among those who were looking forward to seeing the presentation in Duarte, and were not able to make it on Saturday, please contact us if you have a group that would like to see it. Homeowner Association, civic organization, neighborhood meeting, any type of group you can get together and provide us a place to show it, we would be happy to do so. All we need is enough space for your group, and we will bring along projector, screen, etc.

All of these encouraging presentations led into a productive discussion chaired by Ann Croissant, Director of the San Gabriel Mountains Regional Conservancy. The SGMRC has placed some of our Azusa and Duarte residents in touch with key people who will be able to assist in setting up a conservancy to target the acquisition and preservation of additional land in the foothills above Azusa and Duarte. Further meetings will be held to push this effort forward, and organizational help from local residents (that means you) would go a long way toward insuring success of these plans. If you would like to be a part of this by occasionally giving your time to help plan and implement it, please contact us.

And a final note on another success that should inspire us in our efforts. The City of Claremont won at the State Department of Mining and Geology hearing last Wednesday by a vote of 4 to 3. This stopped Vulcan Minerals in their request to have the State force the City of Claremont to change their city zoning and accept strip mining inside their city limits. This is EXACTLY the issue that SVT is working to place on the ballot in Azusa! The Claremont victory is a great precedent for Azusa to use in the argument that the city should be allowed to prohibit further strip mining inside Azusa city limits.

But part of the lesson here is what it took for Claremont to accomplish this. An estimated 400 people attended the hearing last Wednesday, many worked hard to raise awareness, hung door-hangers, planted a yard sign (in front of their more than 150 homes), donated to the cause, and signed-on to fight strip mining in the open spaces.

Former Claremont Councilman Paul Held said after the City Council voted down Vulcan Minerals application last February, that this is just the beginning of a long fight. And he was correct that they must be vigilant. The Vulcan Materials fight now goes back to the City of Claremont where they will try another avenue of changing zoning and securing a mining permit. It seems that their lawsuit against the City of Claremont also will continue.

It will be very important that supporters of the Claremont group, and the Azusa-Duarte group follow events closely, and be willing to show up, and to speak up as the process moves forward. Large numbers of people who are willing to be there and express their opinions at council meetings, commission meetings, zoning hearings, reclamation plan hearings, and environmental hearings and other critical moments will make the difference in whether this movement fails or succeeds.

Your help is extremely important, even if it is only showing up to show you care. Please stay informed and available to do your part.


Thank you,


The SAVE VAN TASSEL group


P.S. We also recently presented the SVT slide show to the office of Congresswoman Hilda Solis, whose staff expressed concern and the wish to assist us in our goals.

Another update follows in a few days regarding progress on the Conservancy movement to secure foothills land for nature/wildlife/recreation preserves.

www.savethemountains.org