In a statement released today, Granite Construction announced its submission of a “revised proposal” to Riverside County for a smaller Liberty Quarry project.
The quarry would involve extracting rocks from hillsides at a site just off Interstate 15, near Rainbow Valley Boulevard, slightly north of the Riverside-San Diego County lines. (Creative Commons)
Granite asserts that the reduction in size would see, in part, a 30 percent reduction in life of the project (25 fewer total years), a 20 percent reduction in maximum truck trips per day (160 fewer truck trips/day), and a 30 percent reduction in mining depth (300 feet).
Additionally, mining would take place during daylight hours only.
The controversial Liberty Quarry project drew strenuous criticism from Temecula city council members, Pechanga tribal leaders, and local groups who opposed the idea of a rock quarry in Temecula’s picturesque hills.
After a battle that spanned years, the measure was voted down with the Riverside County Board of Supervisors’ 3-2 vote against the proposed mining project on Feb. 16, 2012.
“Granite (Construction) will probably file again down the road. I don’t want to be a downer,” Comerchero told an impromptu gathering of supporters held Feb. 16 that celebrated the Board’s decision.
“The revised Liberty Quarry project will create hundreds of new jobs and provide a new source of ongoing revenue for Riverside County to support public safety and other public services,” Gary Johnson, aggregate resource development manager for Granite Construction said in the released statement. “At the same time, this revised proposal substantially reduces the potential environmental impacts of the project.”
Maintaining its promise of jobs for the region, Granite Construction has requested that the Board “fast track” the request in accordance with the Board Policy A32 that recognizes “…the value of commercial and industrial development in the county through the provision of employment opportunity, support for various government services and of the contribution of such investments to the general economic wellbeing of the county.”
Kerri S. Mabee can be reached at kerri.mabee@swrnn.com. Follow me on Twitter @kerrimabee.
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