Temecula school board critical of proposed Liberty Quarry

The proposed site of Liberty Quarry south and west of the Temecula Valley. (Image courtesy of Riverside County Planning Department)

Concerns about potential poorer air quality generated by a proposed quarry two miles south of Temecula has prompted the Temecula school board to speak out recently against the project and the threat of  health risks to students.

In a recent letter to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, the Temecula Valley Unified School District board asked supervisors to “seriously consider the potential air quality impacts found in the Draft Environmental Impact Report that may put in jeopardy the health of thousands of children who attend school in close proximity to the proposed mining site.”

Board member Kristi Rutz-Robbins said in an e-mail that she was pleased with her fellow board members for joining her to advocate for children’s health safety on district playgrounds.

“I am strongly against the quarry going in so close to our schools,” Rutz-Robbins said. “It’s within two miles of several schools. It is an unacceptable location for a quarry — the potential for negative impact on our children is just too great.”

The 414-acre Liberty Quarry being proposed by Granite Construction would be located west of Interstate 15 on the Riverside-San Diego county line, with all but 2.5 acres located in Riverside County. It would include a 155-acre mine for extracting materials used in asphalt and concrete.

The quarry, according to a Draft Environmental Impact Report commissioned by the Riverside County Planning Department, would result in “significant and unavoidable” impacts to several areas of life in Southwest Riverside County. The report states that air quality would be affected by pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, wildlife movement would be interrupted and it would cause traffic and transportation disruptions while the project’s planned road improvements were being funded and completed.

Representatives from Granite Construction did not return requests for comment.

But in a July news release, the company said the project will result in a reduction of up to 16.5 million truck miles per year on Riverside County freeways, providing local builders with a ready source of aggregate.  The company said the report found that no ambient air quality standards would be exceeded by the project and that the actual particulate matter emissions from the project after mitigation would be nearly 10 times lower than the current emissions from the 6.7 miles of Interstate 15 that run through Temecula.

The company also said the quarry would create no more of a health hazard to students than other projects.

The company’s ongoing application for a permit to proceed with the site has been neither approved nor disapproved by the county. According to a July 20 county notice, adoption of a Statement of Overriding Considerations would be required in order for the project to be approved.

Lys Mendez, spokesperson for Riverside County, said the period for public comment on Liberty Quarry ended Nov. 23, after being extended for 60 days. While Temecula Valley Unified School District’s letter was submitted after that date, Mendez said it will still be reviewed as part of the public comment portion of the Final Environmental Impact Report — expected to be submitted to the County Board of Supervisors within the next several months. A public hearing will follow.

“Large-scale projects like this do take some time,” Mendez said. “A lot of the topics addressed by Temecula Valley Unified School District were raised by other members of the public.”

Vincent O’Neal, school board president for Temecula Valley Unified School District, said that the California Environmental Quality Act required the draft environmental impact report to be sent to all public agencies in proximity to the project.

“We reviewed the report, and we just want to make sure the county supervisors read it too,” O’Neal said. “We are asking that they take a very good look at it. There are some impacts that may not be mitigated, and the health and well-being of our students, employees and families should be taken into consideration.”

Maggie Avants is the education editor for SWRNN. Reach her at maggie.avants@swrnn.com. Follow SWRNNedu on Twitter!

Tags: Granite Construction, Kristi Rutz-Robbins, Lys Mendez, Maggie Avants, SWRNN, temecula valley unified school district, Vincent O'Neal

This entry was posted on Monday, December 28th, 2009 at 10:58 pm and is filed under Business, Education, Health, Local News, News . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.