Cuyama Valley Mine Scaled Back

Critics of a controversial gravel mine near Ventucopa in the Cuyama Valley tried this week to derail what had already been approved in 2008, but the Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected those efforts, instead voting to allow changes to the Diamond Rock Sand and Gravel project because they would actually result in less impacts to the area. Due to a slow economy and the fact that a neighboring mine hasn’t been processing much rock recently, Diamond Rock decided to use the adjacent facility rather than construct its own; though it scaled back the project, it still opened a window for appeal by the Cuyama Valley Conservancy, who objected on a number of technical grounds. But the supes weren’t swayed, noting that this vote wasn’t about the whole project. Said 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, who voted against the project in 2008, “It’s giving us an avenue for less impacts. Period.”