Wilderness Day Without the Falls... Congresswoman Chu Takes an Aerial Tour of the Vulcan Mining Site Chu: “This Was Truly an Eye Opener for Me”
People hiked along the river and kids panned for gold, but this year, the centerpiece of what has been the City of Duarte’s Wilderness Day celebration for the past 20 years, was missing. There was no hike to Fish Canyon Falls, no marveling at what has been described as the most beautiful waterfalls in the Angeles National Forest, just a one-and-half mile trek upstream from civilization.
Duarte City officials were told by Vulcan Materials Company just two days before the event that they were pulling the plug on the hike to the falls. It was something that they had been threatening for several weeks, as the City has continued in its opposition to Vulcan’s proposed plan to expand its mining operations to a pristine mountain ridge abutting hundreds of Duarte homes and several schools. Vulcan controls the entrance through their Azusa Rock quarry to the historic Fish Canyon trailhead and each Wilderness Day, a Duarte bus has been allowed to shuttle people to the trailhead. But this year, with Wilderness Day occurring just two days before the Azusa City Council is poised to make a decision on the revised mining plan, Vulcan closed the gate on the public.
“What is so threatening to them to have to cancel such a day this time around,” said Congresswoman Judy Chu, who held a press conference at Encanto Park after returning from a helicopter tour of the Vulcan Materials Company mining site and the mountains above Duarte.
“I believe they are threatened by this group of residents here in Duarte who are simply raising their voice about the need to preserve those mountains. I could see from the deep mining that has been going on, this ugly exterior of the mountain that has been dug into so terribly that there can be an air pollution problem. Now I understand what people were talking about at the AQMD hearing when they were saying silica dust flies around and that they can see particles all around the place. And now I understand what this elderly woman was talking about when she said she went to the doctor and found that there was silica dust in her lungs. There are pollution effects from this mining. There are health effects from this mining. I truly hope and urge the Azusa City Council to fully investigate these effects before they approve the EIR (Environmental Impact Report). And if there can not be good mitigation measures I think they should deny the EIR,” said Congresswoman Chu.
Chu said she saw mountains of such beauty that they reminded her of Hawaii. “I was stunned to learn that the whole top of the mountain will be blown up by 600 feet and that there will be even further digging into the mountainside. I just can’t believe that we will lose such a valuable resource. I think we need to preserve as much natural resources as we can. We are an urban area and every bit of beauty that we have needs to be preserved. Of course, there are all the issues of air quality and the safety of that mountain so I have grave concerns about doing this expansion of the mining project,” she said.
Mayor Margaret Finlay accompanied the Congresswoman on the aerial tour of the mountain and mining site.
“This is something that is very, very important to our city. We have no financial stake in this. All we want is the good health for our people and to not be looking at a scarred mountain. When mining first started here in the early ‘20s it was a pick and shovel operation and we had about 100,000 people who lived in the San Gabriel Valley. Today it is the home of 2 million people, many families looking to be able to go into these mountains. Vulcan just leave our mountains alone. Go earn your money somewhere else, not in a valley of 2 million people,” said Finlay.
On Monday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m., the Azusa City Council will consider approval of a revised Conditional Use Permit, Environmental Impact Report, and Development Agreement that will pave the way for the expanded mining project. If the Azusa City Council approves the plan, Vulcan has promised to pay Azusa millions of dollars in advance mining taxes and other perks, and the City of Duarte has threatened to sue Azusa. If Azusa votes down the plan, Vulcan has threatened to sue Azusa and put off reclamation activities until the current CUP ends in 2038.
Hundreds residents of residents from Duarte, Azusa and other interested parties are expected to attend the meeting to voice their opinions and concerns. The meeting will take place at Azusa City Council Chambers, 213 E. Foothill Blvd. To learn more about the issues involved, contact: Duarte Deputy City Manager, Karen Herrera at (626) 357-7931, DCTV Cable Channel 3 in Duarte and DCTV on the Web at "http://www.dctvduarte.com" as well as "http://www.saveourcanyon.org" are other good sources of information on the Vulcan expansion plan.
