Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma
It was difficult not to notice the blinking street signs strategically placed on main thoroughfares in Fallbrook on Friday night, February 1.
The illuminated signs notified residents of the Rainbow Against The Liberty Quarry Meeting, being held at the Fallbrook Public Utility District.
More than 180 individuals attended the meeting and listened to an insurmountable amount of evidence presented against Liberty Quarry by an adept panel.
Still in the permit and Environmental Impact Report stages, Granite Construction is hoping to operate a 311-acre open-pit mine, named Liberty Quarry, just across the line in Riverside County. It is scheduled to be located east of Interstate 15 between the communities of Rainbow and Temecula.
At the beginning of the meeting, Rua Petty, president of Rainbow Municipal Water District and chairman of the Rainbow Community Planning Group, shared key information.
It was reported that the City of Temecula is actively working on an annexation of the proposed Liberty Quarry site, which could thereby thwart Granite Construction’s efforts.
Despite the possibility of an annexation, those in opposition to Liberty Quarry remain steadfast in their fight.
“The Liberty Quarry situation right now is growing in opposition,” said Jim Mitchell, member of Save Our Southwest Hills. “We have 12 to 15 thousand signatures expressing opposition to the Liberty Quarry.”
Recently, Business and Nonprofit Groups Opposing Liberty Quarry (BANGO) was conceived. Currently 110 nonprofit groups have signed, said Mitchell.
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“Liberty Quarry is not the proper place to put a quarry mine,” stated Mitchell. “The prevailing wind system that goes right over the top of the quarry will go into Temecula Valley, Rainbow and Fallbrook every afternoon around 2 p.m.”
The harmful particulate matter could reach as many as 40 schools in the area, Mitchell said.
Speakers said some 1,400 diesel-powered gravel trucks are likely to be entering and exiting the quarry site via Interstate 15.
“The South Coast Air Quality Management District says that diesel emissions are the major cause of cancer,” said Mitchell.
Home values may also be compromised due to the Liberty Quarry, said Mitchell. “If you talk to real estate agents, you often hear them express a great deal of concern.”
Keynote speaker Penny Newman addressed the audience regarding the nonprofit organization she founded, the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice.
This nonprofit is best known for raising citizen awareness regarding environmental health issues and the harmful effects of pollution. It has also been instrumental in changing laws.
Although a staggering amount of research regarding the proposed quarry is evident, Newman suggested that protesters get to the heart of the issue by examining the following question: Why does the county of Riverside want to pursue the Liberty Quarry?
“There is some priority and some gain that the County of Riverside is getting out of this and that is why it
In order for opposers to put up a good fight, they should plan their strategy from a political perspective. “Deal with it at their level and you will win,” she said.
Operating Liberty Quarry is not a solo issue, Newman relayed. “Once there is a quarry it attracts other things,” she said. These “other things” may include a toxic waste area and dumping ground. “When a quarry is on the map it is seen as an industrial mess and nobody cares.”
Liberty Quarry, explained Dr. Matt Rahn, Director of Field Station Programs for San Diego State University, claimed that Liberty Quarry is proposing a serious threat to the 4,500 acres that they own in the area.
“Since 1962, that property has been used as a research and education facility,” said Rahn. “Over 400 projects have been done on this property.”
Their past studies have focused on the ecosystem, climate change, global warming, homeland security and wildfires. “We deal with these issues on a day to day basis,” he said.
Jim Oenning, member of the Fallbrook Community Planning Group and chairman of Liberty Quarry subcommittee, discussed his personal heartache regarding silicosis.
“Crystalline silica took my son’s life over a five-year period,” said Oenning. It was an industrial death, he explained, as it was dust from granite countertops that killed him.
“Crystalline silica is a result of breaking rock; it has sharp edges and sharp points,” explained Oenning. The human eye is unable to see this particulate matter that, he said, will be produced by Liberty Quarry’s mining efforts.
“Crystalline silica gets imbedded in your lungs and you cannot cough it out,” said Oenning. Crystalline silica is the cause of silicosis, a progressive disease for which there is no reverse treatment.
Oenning is also in the beginning stages of researching P-Waves caused by blasting in quarry mines. His study is focusing on the overall negative P-Wave effects, as well as the potential destruction of building structures.
At the meeting, opponents of Liberty Quarry recommended that residents log on to http://www.NoGravelQuarry.com and http://www.SOS-Hills.org for information.
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