Questions arise on status of idle cement plant and quarry losaltosonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from losaltosonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lehigh faces oversight, environment challenges Written by Bruce Barton
No news may be good news for residents living near a long-standing quarry and cement plant in the foothills just south of Los Altos.
A host of regulators participating in Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian’s annual meeting last week on the status of Lehigh Southwest Cement Co. operations described a “quiet year” in 2020, with an overall slowdown in activity. A recently filed Lehigh lawsuit against the county planning department, however, underscores the company’s continued efforts to secure the necessary approvals to expand operations.
On hand at Simitian’s March 3 meeting were officials from oversight agencies that ranged from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and the county planning department. As the county’s biggest polluter, the cement plant and quarry are subjected to numerous air a
Lehigh Cement files suit against county planning director Written by Bruce Barton
Operators of the long-running cement plant and quarry in the foothills south of Los Altos filed a lawsuit last week against the Santa Clara County director of planning and development, over delays in processing a proposal some see as bringing significant environmental impacts to the area.
Lehigh Southwest Cement Co. and Hanson Permanente Cement Inc. Feb. 22 filed a petition for writ of mandate and a complaint for declaratory relief in county Superior Court after having “exhausted available administrative remedies” in efforts to forward a reclamation plan amendment, according to the filing. The amendment, altering a 2012 plan, would, among its proposals, open a second pit for mining, allow import of aggregate material and impact a viewshed that has been off-limits since the early 1970s.