Wednesday, March 7, 2012
A draft EIR for reclamation of the Lehigh Southwest Cement Permanente Quarry should not be approved by county planning commissioners in its current state, says state water board and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District.
Editor's note: On March 8, the County Planning Office issued a statement saying a March 22 Planning Commission meeting has been postponed. A new date at which the draft Environmental Impact Report—the subject of this article—will be discussed and reviewed will be announced after March 23. A draft environmental impact report for Lehigh Southwest Permanente Quarry is seriously flawed and should not be approved by Santa Clara County planning commissioners later this month, according to at least two government agencies that submitted comments—some of them scathing—to county planners. “The environmental impacts have been significantly underestimated and under-identified,” wrote Shin-Roei Lee, chief of the Watershed Management Division of the …
37.322206
-122.078434
Lehigh Southwest Cement
24001 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA
/articles/lehigh-draft-eir-lacking-agencies-assert
105711
/locations/6605525
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Club asks court to impose hefty fines and force Lehigh to stop discharging elevated levels of selenium and other toxins into creek that flows through Cupertino, Los Altos and Mountain View.
Accusing Lehigh Southwest Cement of dumping thousands of gallons of untreated wastewater containing dangerous toxins into Permanente Creek daily, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday, asking that the company be forced to stop, as well as pay multi-millions in fines for violating the Clean Water Act. “After years of unchecked pollution, it’s time for Lehigh to clean up its act,” said Gary Latshaw of the club’s local Loma Prieta Chapter in a statement. “Its refusal to control its water pollution has no place in the heart of Silicon Valley. We intend to enforce the Clean Water Act to restore the health of this precious public stream in Santa Clara County.” The club contends that high levels of selenium and other toxins …
37.322206
-122.078434
Lehigh Southwest Cement
24001 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA
/articles/sierra-club-files-suit-against-lehigh-for-permanente-creek-pollution
105711
/locations/6052275
Friday, August 26, 2011
Club alleges elevated levels of selenium and other toxins are threatening wildlife; will sue under Clean Water Act if discharges don't stop within 60 days.
Charging that Lehigh Southwest Cement is dumping elevated levels of selenium and other toxins into Permanente Creek and San Francisco Bay, the Sierra Club stepped into the legal fray against the company, saying it will sue under the Clean Water Act if discharges do not stop within 60 days. In one specific instance, the club said that Lehigh’s own documentation shows “that quarry pit wastewater that Lehigh discharges in the creek has been a staggering 16 times higher than Clean Water Act stream standards,” for certain toxins, according to a statement released Wednesday. The statement added that in popular Rancho San Antonio County Park, immediately downstream from the plant, pollution is “especially dangerous” where selenium concentrations …
37.322206
-122.078434
Lehigh Southwest Cement
24001 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA
/articles/sierra-club-threatens-suit-against-lehigh-for-permanente-creek-pollution
105711
/locations/5202453
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
County planners will host a public meeting Wednesday, 7-9 p.m. in Cupertino.
What environmental issues do 1.7 million neighbors of the Lehigh Southwest Cement plant and quarry want studied as the company plans a new 210-acre pit mine in the foothills just outside Cupertino, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills? Santa Clara County planners want to know. They will host a meeting called a “Public Scoping Session” Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. in the Cupertino Room of the Quinlan Center, 10185 N. Stelling Rd. Planners say they want to hear what information citizens think should be included in an environmental impact report (EIR). In addition to the proposed pit mine, the report will also address a reclamation plan amendment to the quarry's 1985 Reclamation Plan. A reclamation plan addresses how the land will be eventually be "…
37.32525
-122.041479
10185 N Stelling Rd, Cupertino, CA
Wednesday's 7 p.m. meeting at the Quinlin Center, Cupertino Room
/articles/county-seeks-input-on-210-acre-lehigh-pit-mine
/locations/3843855
37.322206
-122.078434
24001 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA
Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant & Quarry
/articles/county-seeks-input-on-210-acre-lehigh-pit-mine
/locations/3843856
Monday, March 14, 2011
State water board issues notice of violation for unpermitted discharges into Permanente Creek; Los Altos and Los Altos Hills continue scrutiny.
The Lehigh Southwest Cement quarry came under further scrutiny last week, in part after revelations that the company is possibly discharging millions of gallons of unpermitted water containing sediment and toxins into Permanente Creek and San Francisco Bay. Officials from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board were at the quarry outside Cupertino on Wednesday to study the situation, after having sent a notice of violation to Lehigh officials in February stating that the company is violating its storm drain permit and must apply for a more stringent permit. On Tuesday the Los Altos City Council had voted to support further study by a joint committee with the Los Altos Hills City Council. Los Altos Mayor Ron Packard and Los …
37.322206
-122.078434
24001 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino, CA
/articles/lehigh-quarry-under-microscope-for-possible-water-violations
/locations/3683200
37.381353
-122.114166
1 N San Antonio Rd, Los Altos, CA
/articles/lehigh-quarry-under-microscope-for-possible-water-violations
/locations/3683201
37.32525
-122.041479
10185 N Stelling Rd, Cupertino, CA
/articles/lehigh-quarry-under-microscope-for-possible-water-violations
/locations/3683202
Susan
6:33 pm on Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Why is Santa Clara County's Lehigh Cement Plant not a part of the dEIR? So Santa Clara County can avoid including the 100,000 annual truck trips to/from the cement plant in the EIR's health risk assessment study. Nice, eh? Well, the following excerpt from the Water Board's dEIR comments proves (the obvious) that the quarry and the cement plant are an INTEGRATED operation: "(cement kiln bricks --… more ›