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The Honorable Board of Supervisors
June 2. 2004
Page 2

Project, after the adoption of all feasible mitigation measures and the imposition of
Project conditions, are outweighed by specific economic, legal, social, technological,
and other benefits of the Project; adopt the Statement of Overriding Considerations
prepared for the Project; (Exhibit 8) pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15093; and
adopt the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan for the Project (Exhibit C) pursuant
to CEQA Guideline section 15091 (d) and find, pursuant to Section 21081.6 of the
Public Resources Code, that the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan is adequately
designed to ensure compliance with the mitigation measures during implementation of
the Project.

3. Approve Surface Mining Permit No. 91-165-(5) and the findings (Exhibit D) and
conditions (Exhibit E) relating thereto, and approve the Mining and Reclamation Plan
(Exhibit F) and Financial Assurance Cost Estimate (Exhibit G) prepared for the Project.

PURPOSE/JUSTIFICATION OF RECOMMENDED ACTION

The recommended actions are required to implement the federal court approved Consent
Decree settling the federal civil rights and preemption lawsuit for damages and declaratory
relief filed by Cemex, Inc. ("Cemex") and the United States against the County in 2002, in the
case entitled Cemex, Inc. v County of Los Angeles; (USDC Case No. CV-02-747 OT). The
Consent Decree provides for County approval of the Cemex mining Project under a set of
negotiated project conditions. Your Board approved and executed the Consent Decree on
February 3, 2004, and it was executed on behalf of Cemex and the United States shortly
thereafter. Federal District Court Judge Dickran Tevrizian approved and entered the Consent
Decree on May 6, 2004, after an extensive hearing in which the judge overruled all objections
to the consent decree made by the City of Santa Clarita ("Santa Clarita").

The recommended actions will approve the environmental documentation, project
entitlements, and related mining and reclamation plan and financial assurances for Surface
Mining Permit 91-165-(5), to authorize Cemex, the successor in interest to Transit Mixed
Concrete Company, to produce up to 56.1 million tons of federally-owned sand and gravel and
to construct and operate appurtenant facilities, including a concrete batch plant, on
approximately 460 acres in the unincorporated Soledad Canyon area of the Fifth Supervisorial
District. The Project implements two ten-year United States Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") mineral sales contracts which were awarded by the
federal government in 1990, following a competitive bidding process. The Project presented
herein for approval is consistent with, and squarely within the limits of the proposal considered
by your Board during your previous extensive public hearing on the project, which included the

HOA.236756.1