Page 7 - laco_cemexpermit060204

The Honorable Board of Supervisors
June 2, 2004
Page 7

legally required. This issue is addressed in more detail in the Environmental Documentation
portion of this letter. The Consent Decree does not provide for your Board to re-open the
public hearing on the Project or to recirculate the FEIR or to engage in further environmental
review of the project at this point. Judge Tevrizian found that such recirculation or additional
analysis is pre-empted given what the court considered to be substantial delays already
encountered in the County's consideration of the Cemex proposal.

Judge Tevrizian conducted a court hearing on the legality and propriety of the Consent Decree
on May 3, 2004. Santa Clarita contested the proposed Consent Decree arguing, among other
things, that it violated CEQA and federal environmental laws, was contrary to public policy,
and was the product of duress against the County. Judge Tevrizian rejected all of these
arguments and specifically concluded that the Consent Decree" ... not only results in a much
more environmentally friendly Project than originally proposed or that would have resulted
from completion of the litigation, but also resolves this complex and contentious litigation in a
lawful and reasonable manner."

ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION

The FEIR prepared for the Project comprehensively evaluates its potential environmental
impacts. As indicated in more detail in the CEQA Findings of Fact (Exhibit A), the FEIR
consists of the February 1999 Draft Environmental Impact Report, the February 1999
Technical Appendices to the Draft Environmental Impact Report, the August 2000 Additional
Environmental Information to the Draft Environmental Impact Report, and the November 2001
FEIR (which includes the November 2001 Revised Final Environmental Impact Report,
Volume 1 - Responses to Comments, the April 2001 Final Environmental Impact Report,
Volumes 2-6, the November Revised Final Environmental Impact Report, Volume 7 -Technical
Appendices and the November 2001 Final Environmental Impact Report, Volume 8 -
Attachments to the City of Santa Clarita Letter dated December 26, 2000). The FEIR has
been provided to your Board under separate cover.

The FEIR contains responses to all comments received by the County during several
comment periods. The Draft Environmental Impact Report was circulated for public review
from February, 1999 to November, 1999. The Additional Environmental Information to the
Draft Environmental Impact Report was circulated for public review from August 17 through
December 26, 2000. Your Board also accepted additional comments during its public hearing
process.

HOA.236756.1