Tulare County Planning Commission met on April 8 to continue the public hearing and consider the settlement progress made between CEMEX and the neighbors of its Stillwell mine whose wells have gone dry. Mike Spata, Director of the Resource Management Agency (RMA), started the hearing by informing the commissioners that the lawyers were present to […]
If you say something often enough then people will start to believe it, right? That’s what politicians and spin masters do. That also seems to be the modus operandi of CEMEX. At every opportunity Patrick Mitchell, the lawyer for CEMEX, blames the drought on the fact that four domestic wells next to CEMEX’ Stillwell mine […]
The Tulare County Planning Commission held a public hearing December 10 to determine the future of CEMEX’ mining permit. The possible recommendations ranged from revocation to taking no action. Mike Spata, director of Resource Management Agency (RMA) started the proceedings by informing the commissioners that the amount of information concerning Stillwell Mine is voluminous. He […]
On Wednesday, December 10, the Tulare County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing concerning CEMEX’ conditional use permit at Stillwell mine in Lemon Cove. CEMEX is a Mexican-owned gravel mining company that has been accused of violating its permits since taking over RMC Pacific Materials in the early 2000s. Everyone concerned with the future […]
When Rob and Sissi Morton moved into their Lemon Cove home 12 years ago, they thought they had bought a little piece of heaven. Their 1.5 acres of land had a beautiful view of the foothills and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Regardless of the amount of rainfall, they also had some of the most reliable water in the state, with the water table only […]
CEMEX is fighting on two fronts to continue mining in Tulare County. The first front is defending itself against allegations that it violated its conditional use permit. If found guilty, the company could lose its permit to mine gravel at Stillwell Mine in Lemon Cove. On the second front, it is in danger of the […]
From the Sierra Nevada Mountains flows the Kaweah River. This river can rage through the Valley creating floods, or more commonly, be reduced to a trickle in the summer months even before it was dammed in 1962. About a mile north of Sequoia Union Elementary School and 2.5 miles south of Woodlake is an isolated […]
Locals lament lack of leadership from their supervisors It’s one step forward and two steps back for the residents who live next to the Stillwell mine in Lemon Cove. In January, several residents’ wells dried up when CEMEX stopped filling the recharge trench that maintained their water levels. The multi-national initially refused to fill the […]
The Water Bond hasn’t even passed yet and additional water storage is already in the works for Tulare County. A 4,000-acre-foot reservoir is being planned south of Woodlake and next to Lemon Cove where the St. Johns River and the Kaweah River split at a location known as McKay’s Point. An Indian village used to […]
A Peer Review of CEMEX’ hydrology report was delivered to the Resource Management Agency (RMA) Tuesday, August 26, and concluded that “it was difficult to say CEMEX was without fault” for residential wells going dry. Back in January, four Lemon Cove residents living next door to the Stillwell mine started experiencing dry wells. EMKO Environmental, […]