108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3529
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to cancel certain Bureau
of Land Management leases that authorize extraction of sand and gravel from
the Federal mineral estate in lands in Soledad Canyon adjacent to the City
of Santa Clarita, California, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 19, 2003
Mr. MCKEON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to cancel certain Bureau
of Land Management leases that authorize extraction of sand and gravel from
the Federal mineral estate in lands in Soledad Canyon adjacent to the City
of Santa Clarita, California, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Soledad Canyon Mine Lease Cancellation Act'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Transit Mixed Concrete Corporation holds two Bureau of Land Management
leases for the extraction of sand and gravel from the Federal mineral estate
in lands in Soledad Canyon adjacent to the City of Santa Clarita, California,
numbered CA-20139 and CA-22901. Such lands contain approximately 56,000,000
tons of sand and gravel.
(2) Mining 56,000,000 tons of sand and gravel under the terms of the leases
would produce harm to the environment and cause major transportation problems
for the City of Santa Clarita, surrounding areas, and other users of the
transportation systems in the vicinity.
(3) It is in the best interest of the citizens of California and the Federal
Government to cancel those leases and make available new leases for those
resources that reflect the level of mining that has historically occurred
in the Soledad Canyon area of California.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(1) `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior;
(2) `TMC' means the Transit Mixed Concrete Corporation; and
(3) `historical mining level' means XXXX tons per year.
SEC. 4. TMC LEASE CANCELLATIONS.
The Secretary shall cancel Bureau of Land Management leases CA-20139 and CA-22901,
effective on the date of enactment.
SEC. 5. FUTURE LEASES FOR SAND AND GRAVEL IN SOLEDAD CANYON AREA OF CALIFORNIA.
(a) RESTRICTION- The Secretary may not issue any lease or leases for mining
sand and gravel in the Soledad Canyon area of California as described on the
map titled XXXXX and dated XXXXX on file with the Secretary,
that authorize mining that, in aggregate, exceeds the historical mining level
of XXXXX tons per calendar year.
(b) CONSULTATIONS AND CONSIDERATION REQUIRED- Before issuing any lease authorizing
the mining of sand or gravel in the Soledad Canyon area of California, the
Secretary shall--
(1) consult with the City of Santa Clarita, California, Los Angles County,
California, and surface owners in that area; and
(2) take into consideration the environmental and transportation impacts
of such mining on that area.
END
