Legislation Needs Your Help

Posted on February 8, 2015 by admin

This Friday, February 13, ES-CA’s Bills HB188 and HB190 co-sponsored by Rep. Smith and Sen. Sapien will be heard in Santa Fe at 1:30PM in room 315 of the State Capital. If responsible gravel mining is important to you, please attend or at the very least, contact the members of the committee and let them know how you feel (see ES-CA Forum “What Legislators Want to Know”). This first hearing is in the House Regulatory and Public Affairs Committee (HRPAC). For the two responsible gravel mining bills to pass, we must convince HRPAC, then three other committees, the full House, and the full Senate that these Bills are important to the public and must pass.

Anyone wishing to carpool up to the hearing in Santa Fe should arrive at the MERC around 11:45PM this Friday to leave at noon. If you drive or ride the train up on your own, consider coming early to watching the House and Senate debate passage of bills.

You can read these bills by following these links HB188 and  HB190. The bills were formed by ES-CA in response to ongoing concerns of our Eastern Sandoval County citizens and ES-CA members, drafted into potential law by Representative Smith, and then co-sponsored by Senator Sapien. HB188 increases potential penalties for sand and gravel violations of county zoning ordinances. HB190 requires very large scale sand and gravel mines to meet the more cohesive requirements of the Mining Act from which they are currently excluded.

This is not just a localized issue. Some of the most beautiful areas of the state have large gravel deposits. While we use the Lafarge Pit as the current example, we are anticipating that the BLM will soon act to permit gravel mining on 2 sections of land (800 acres) also in the Placitas area — so we repeat: we are asking for our citizens to be protected from the negative impacts these mines have to our air, our water, and the value of our properties, and believe these bills to be tools we need.

Posted in Current Issues, Zoning and Land Use | 2 Comments

ES-CA Board Meeting of February 2, 2015

Posted on February 4, 2015 by admin

The ES-CA Board of Directors met on February 2, 2015. All Board members were present (P- Bob Gorrell, VP – Ed Majka, Treasurer – Susan Fullas, Secretary – Lynn Koch, and members – Jerry Saxton, Chris Daul and Tony Hull).

Dick Ulmer, head of the Land Use Planning Trust, spoke about the status of the litigation with Vulcan. ES-CA has petitioned the court to intervene and is still waiting for the judge to rule. The LPT is continuing to raise funds for litigation costs. Bob noted that two pieces of legislation have been introduced in the State Legislature. One would include sand and gravel mining within the purview of the current State Mining Act and the other would strengthen the counties’ ability to enforce their zoning laws. The current litigation with Vulcan arises from Sandoval County’s attempt at enforcing its zoning law and ES-CA’s position is that the County needs stronger authority in these matters.

Jerry Saxton reported that he and the membership committee have been working to improve communications with members and to update the data base. This will also help in keeping members apprised of when their renewals occur. The Board had previously retained an IT firm to assist in this matter, as well as assisting in updating the web page. The Board will continue to use the IT firm on other matters.

The Board reviewed the Rules of Engagement and some changes have been approved. The final document will be posted in the Forum and members are encouraged to share their thoughts about the document.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 2, 2015, beginning at 6:30 pm at la Puerta Realty, located on Rt. 165. All are welcome to attend. The next Political/Legal Committee meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 9, beginning at 6:30 pm at the Placitas Library. All are welcome to attend.

As always, the Board welcomes members’ comments and participation.

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Town of Bernalillo Annexes Fisher Site

Posted on January 14, 2015 by admin

Last Monday 1/12/15, the Town of Bernalillo Town Council approved Ordinance 286 annexing the Fisher Sand and Gravel site into the Town borders. They provided an M-1 Zoning designation with a conditional permit allowing mining of sand and gravel for a period of 7 years. Fisher in return will donate 7 acres of land for ESCAFCA to build a detention pond to provide additional flood control for the Town. Fisher will also provide excavation for that portion of the property. Upon completion of the removal of all saleable material or 7 years whichever comes first, Fisher will reclaim the site for commercial development and are required to provide a performance bond to ensure completion within 1 additional year.

Although ESCA did not accomplish all the recommendations submitted to all parties involved, we did establish an end date and many of our requests were incorporated into the Ordinance. The original application by Fisher had no end date. We were able to negotiate from 15 years to 7 years but could not get the permit to 5 years. Hours of operation as per our request are 7am-5pm Monday-Friday, no possibility of an asphalt plant, metering of water usage, adequate performance bonding and several other concerns which we will continue to follow to ensure compliance.

It is important to stay on top off the operation to make sure they follow the conditions of the temporary permit. Hopefully, our efforts will also be a precedent for any future mining activity in our community. ESCA is continuing its work to put more stringent Governmental regulations regarding zoning and mining in place and is working closely with our Political Representatives at the County and State levels.We must all be vigilant and active to protect our Community. As we proceed ,we will keep you informed.

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TOWN OF BERNALILLO APPROVED ANNEXATION OF FISHER SAND AND GRAVEL

Posted on January 13, 2015 by admin

The Mayor and Council of the Town of Bernalillo approved an ordinance to annex the Fisher Sand and Gravel Site, which is located along I 25, just south of Placitas. The ordinance also changes the zoning of the site to M-1 and permits Fisher to apply for a Conditional Use Permit.

ES-CA continues to oppose all mining in the Placitas, Algodones and Bernalillo area. ES-CA representatives testified at the meeting and also submitted a number of recommendations to the Mayor and Council. Many of these recommendations were adopted into the ordinance, and, while the Board continues to oppose mining, we believe that the ordinance gives the Town much control over the operation of the facility, most importantly stating that all mining activity will cease within seven (7) years of the beginning of operations.

Fisher initially asked for no time restriction on the length of operations and then asked for fifteen years. ES-CA countered with a recommendation of no more than two years. ES-CA ultimately requested a five year limitation, but the Mayor and Council voted to accept a seven year limitation.

Major components of the ordinance are:
• Hours of operation will be limited to Monday through Friday, 7 am to 5 pm.
• No asphalt operation will be permitted.
• Fisher must reclaim the site within one year of ceasing operations and they must also provide a bond to insure that reclamation occurs.
• Water use will be strictly monitored by the Town.
• The conditional use permit will be reviewed every year to insure that Fisher is in compliance with all of the requirements of the approval.

ES-CA officials have met with Mayor Jack Torres and Fisher VP Dave Olson on numerous occasions to discuss this matter. We believe that we will be able to work with Fisher on any issues that arise during the life of this project and ask that residents contact us immediately about any issues affecting them that come from the operation of this facility.

ES-CA would like to thank Mayor Torres and the Council for their consideration of ES-CA’s submissions and for incorporating many of the recommendations into the final ordinance. The ES-CA Board believes that we have taken the best course of action in this matter. We did not believe that there was an option that would have prevented Fisher from operating and we believed that the best course of action was to gain some control over the operations. Limiting the lifetime of the operation, limiting the hours of operation, prohibiting any asphalt operations and fostering a working relationship with both the Town of Bernalillo and with Fisher, gives us a good measure of control and we believe that is the best outcome in this situation.

This project will also provide a sorely needed detention basin to help alleviate the storm water flooding that has occurred in Bernalillo in the past few years. While ES-CA remains committed to protecting the interests of Placitans, we also are committed to working with all residents in the County and must be cognizant of their needs.

ES-CA looks forward to continuing to work with the Town of Bernalillo on issues of mutual interest. ES-CA will also continue to monitor the operations of Fisher and will respond to any issues that arise.

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Proposed Gravel Mining Legislation

Posted on January 12, 2015 by admin

The 2015 Legislature will consider legislation crafted by ES-CA and drafted by Representative Jim Smith, and according to Jim, Senator John Sapien has asked that he be included as a co-sponsor. This legislation is important not only to the health and welfare of Placitans, but to other New Mexicans that cannot locally defend their well-being against well-funded mining operators and their lawyers.

There are two Bill drafts. The, Zoning Enforcement law would bolster a County’s ability to administratively enforce its zoning laws in regards to gravel mining violations. Sandoval County interprets NM Statute 4-37-3 NMSA 1978 to limit penalty to a mine that has violations, such as Fisher or Vulcan (previously Lafarge), to a one time fine of $300. Bernalillo County interprets the same statute to allow the penalty per violation and per day which significantly increases its ability to enforce a violation. Still, with substantial daily profits out of mines like Vulcan’s, even if the penalty were assessed daily, it may not represent even 1/100th of a mine’s daily revenues. The proposed legislation clarifies that stated fines related to gravel mining are per violation and per day.  The fines are also increased to $1,000 per violation and jail time of up to a year.

The Gravel Mining Law would increase oversight by bringing gravel mines with five acres or more of active working area under the Mining Act. This would not prohibit a small operator from mining five acres, reclaiming, and then mining another five acres. Currently, gravel mining is excluded from the Mining Act, so mega mines, such as the several we have in the Placitas area, are excluded from many of the environmental and health safeguards required of other large mines. A few of the safeguards they are currently excluded from include water discharge plans, off-site storm water control, reclamation, and periodic re-permitting to ensure they are not causing harm. While some safeguards can be imposed by county or municipal ordinances, if a mine is on BLM land, local ordinances do not apply and there is a lot of BLM land surrounding Placitas. If this Bill becomes law, the Mining Act will also protections to BLM lands and their nearby communities, like Placitas,

The New Mexico Legislature starts January 20th and runs through March 21st. ES-CA will announce when these bills will be heard in committees. New Mexico Legislators have a greater tendency to seriously consider bills when citizens turn out to be heard. Please plan to attend all committee hearings and show your support.

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Placitas Library Well

Posted on January 10, 2015 by admin

Sandoval County District 1 Commissioner James Dominguez has been meeting with County Manager Phil Rios and other County officials to try to resolve the issue of the well that services the Library and the Placitas Fire Station.

Commissioner Dominguez reports that the engineers, retained by the County, have determined that there is available water in the current area of the well. The County is going to pull up the well pump and screen, clean them, and then lower them back down to a deeper location, where the water is present. The County expects that this will provide a number of years of water, while they look at a more permanent solution.

The County should begin work on this project on Monday, January 12, and should complete the work within the next two weeks.

In addition, Commissioner Dominguez is also discussing the issue of the heating/cooling system with the appropriate County personnel and is working to find a solution.

In the interests of keeping communications coordinated, we ask that if anyone has any questions or comments about these issues, that they forward them through Karen Cox and/or Marian Frear who can then communicate directly with Commissioner Dominguez.

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ES-CA BOARD MEETING OF JANUARY 5, 2015

Posted on January 7, 2015 by admin

The ES-CA Board of Directors held its monthly meeting on January 5, 2015. Attending were: Bob Gorrell; Ed Majka; Susan Fullas; Chris Daul; Lynn Koch; Jerry Saxton; and, Joan Fenicle (who was representing Tony Hull). New officers were elected as follows: President – Bob Gorrell; Vice President – Ed Majka; Treasurer – Susan Fullas; and, Secretary – Lynn Koch.
Orin Safier gave his last report as Treasurer and as a Board member or ES-CA. Orin is moving to Denver and ES-CA, as well as the entire Placitas community, will miss him and the time and service he has given to the community. Orin also reported that the ES-CA website has been updated and improved through the work of an outside consultant.
Dick Ulmer reported for the Land Use Planning Trust that the judge is reviewing ES-CA’s petition to intervene in the County’s lawsuit against Vulcan (formerly Lafarge). The LPT is continuing to raise money for legal fees for the lawsuit and all residents are encouraged to contribute. We cannot let the mining companies operate outside of the law.
Ed Majka, Chris Daul and Bob Gorrell reported on the Fisher Sand and Gravel proposed ordinance for annexation to the Town of Bernalillo and mining in general. Bob has prepared two pieces of legislation that would strengthen the State’s control of sand and gravel mining and give counties more enforcement power over these operations. ES-CA will be meeting with State representatives to have this legislation introduced in the upcoming Legislative session.
ES-CA representatives have been assisting the Placitas Library in attempting to restore water to the building. We have been working with County officials and hope to have a short term fix within the month.
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 2, 2015, beginning at 6:30 pm at La Puerta Realty, located on Rt. 165. All are welcome to attend.

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Fisher to be Annexed by Town of Bernalillo

Posted on December 20, 2014 by admin

The annexation of Fisher Sand and Gravel Mining site is on the Agenda for the December 22, 2014 meeting of the Town of Bernalillo Council. The Town desperately needs a storm water detention structure at the Fisher location and this will be a condition of the approval. Fisher will be permitted to mine gravel, but for a limited duration (Revised Fisher Ordinance (DRAFT)12-19-14). Flooding in Bernalillo is chiefly caused from storm waters flowing from the Sandia Tribal Lands and a good amount flows though the arroyo that crosses the Fisher property.

In 2010 County Zoning administratively approved Fisher for terrain management grading only. Fisher instead immediately began gravel mining without any approvals from the County. Nevertheless, the County chose not to enforce its zoning regulations. In January 2012, after two years of illegal gravel mining, Fisher began moving an asphalt plant onto their property and Placitans turned out in force to let the County Commission know that enough is enough. The County then filed on January 27, 2012 a non-compliance notice against Fisher (CorrectionLtr_27Jan2012). The mining stopped, but Fisher never removed the mining equipment or completed the grading. The County chose not to take any enforcement action. The County turned a blind eye to Fisher which allowed them over the last two years to make a deal with the Town of Bernalillo for annexation.

Due to the actions of ES-CA: In the draft ordinance, the Town of Bernalillo has included protections that prohibit an asphalt plant, and include time limits, reclamation, and a performance bond to enforce terms. Over the last year, Mayor Torres has been in communication with ES-CA, and we have submitted a list of recommendations (11Nov2014_Recommendations regarding Fisher Sand and Gravel) that would minimize impact to our communities. Most of our recommendations are included in the draft ordinance. The most important item is the cut-off date. Mining negatively impacts lives and property values and an end-date will mitigate these impacts. The communities around the Lafarge mine had clear expectations from an earlier operator that the lease and mining would cease in 2015, but there were no teeth in the agreements and the current operators are thumbing their nose at the County. In my opinion, the Mayor of Bernalillo has brokered a workable solution which will not make everyone happy, but is tolerable for most.

Please support the ES-CA Land Protection Trust (LPT) which is working very hard to implement legal and legislative remedies to protect us against mining’s further expansion in Placitas. To gain a seat at the table in deciding our future, LPT has recently filed a motion to intervene in the Lafarge vs. County of Sandoval zoning lawsuit. More information at www.es-ca.org.

Posted in Current Issues, Partner Post, Zoning and Land Use | 4 Comments

ES-CA Board Meeting of December 2, 2014

Posted on December 6, 2014 by admin

The Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association Board had its regular monthly meeting on December 2, 2014. In attendance were Board members: BG; Chris Daul (CD); Ed Majka (EM); Orin Safier (OS); and, Jerry Saxton (JS). A quorum was reached. Arriving later were Board Members Tony Hull (TH) and Lynn Koch (LK).

The minutes of the November Board meeting were approved unanimously without changes.

Guests attending the meeting were: Sandoval County District One Commissioner Elect James Dominguez; ES-CA Board Elect member Susan Fullas; Joan Fenicle, Chris Frye; Dick Ulmer; Judy Labowitz; Marsha Masden; Bill Wilhelm; Marvin; and, Nonnie.
Mr. Dominguez was asked to speak first and he thanked everyone for their support and stated that he would be very supportive of Placitas, as well as the whole district and County. He then asked that the Board advise him of the pressing issues. The Board proceeded to discuss the following matters:

a. Gravel Mining
BG reviewed the draft mining legislation that he has been working on. Mr. Dominguez stated that he supported the legislation and was working with Commissioner Walters to have the County express its public support for the legislation. They are:
1. Include sand and gravel mining operations greater than 5 acres within the Mining Act.
2. Allow Counties to impose penalties up to $1,000 per day for gravel mining zoning violations.
3. Allow Counties to impose a construction aggregate severance tax for local use.

b. Fisher Sand and Gravel
EM and CD reported that CD has met with Bernalillo Mayor Jack Torres and reviewed ES-CA’s recommendations for annexation of the site by Bernalillo. CD stated that Mayor Torres expressed his concurrence with the recommendations. CD is meeting with Mayor Torres on December 2 to discuss this matter again. CD will advise the Board concerning: (1) date of Mayor and Council meeting at which the application for annexation is to be discussed; (2) Mayor’s position on the recommendations; and (3) whether the application can be reviewed by the public. BG noted that the recommendations apply to the County as well, if they should retain jurisdiction. BG also noted that the County has not been pursuing the current outstanding violation issued to Fisher. Mr. Dominguez promised to look into that matter.
As an update, the matter will be listed on the December 22, 2014 meeting of the Bernalillo Mayor and Council. All interested persons are welcome to attend the meeting. Please feel free to contact ES-CA for additional information.
c. Land Use Planning Trust
The LPT is sending out a fundraising mailer to all Placitas residents. A motion to intervene in the County lawsuit against Vulcan was filed with the court on November 10. Seven notices of violation were filed by NMED against Vulcan.
d. I 25 Interchange
BG is continuing to follow-up with the District 3 Engineer.
e. Pipeline
OS noted that we still have not received any documents from our records request. Mr. Dominguez said that he would push the County to make a records request and that he was meeting with a PRC Commissioner to discuss this matter.

Committee reports were given as follows:
Treasurer’s Report: OS reported a current balance of $16,967.68. OS noted that the Officers and Directors Insurance was due and that he would pay the $810.00 due.
Watchdogs: Scot Stevens was not present. ED reported that there were now 22 people signed up as Watchdogs.
Membership: JS deferred.
Political/Legal: EM reported that the ESCAFCA bonds had passed.
IT Management: OS noted that our consultant was about finished with his work and OS would be testing it and reporting back.
Communications: CD noted that the Signpost had published our article and had also run an informative article on Vulcan.

Follow-up items included the ES-CA Statement of Support, concerning proposed uses for the Buffalo Tract of the BLM land. It was decided that ES-CA will try to meet with our Congressional delegation to discuss.

New business considered the following:
a. LPA-KURP Radio
Joan Fenicle and Chris Frye made a presentation about the new Placitas radio station and requested a donation from ES-CA for equipment purchases. Discussion ensued and the Board voted to contribute $1,000.00 to the station, pending approval by the membership.
b. Mission Statement/Rules of Engagement
The board decided to defer discussion of this item to the next meeting.
c. Election of 2015 Officers
The Board decided to have a consent agenda vote at the beginning of the next meeting and proposed: Bob Gorrell – President; Ed Majka – Vice President; Susan Fullas – Treasurer; and, Lynn Koch – Secretary

The next Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 5, 2015 at La Puerta Realty, beginning at 6:30pm. All are welcome to attend.

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Gravel Mining Lawsuit Intervention–Background Documents

Posted on December 5, 2014 by admin

by Dick Ulmer, Chairman, ES-CA Land Use Protection Trust Board

We wanted to post the documents that have been filed that relate to the County lawsuit to enforce the terms previously agreed to govern the nonconforming gravel mining in Placitas by Vulcan Materials (previously Lafarge, and before that it was M.T. Investments–the latter of which still hold the Gravel lease, and have subleased to Lafarge/Vulcan).   Mt. Adams is the owner of record for the land.

Following is a brief explanation of the various documents (and a link to each):

This is the key document.  When the Bernalillo ETZ (the local zoning agency at that time) was putting area zoning into effect (and recognizing that a mining lease existed since 1973), they brought together surrounding residents, developers, and the mining operator to provide input to this certificate (and representatives of each involved party signed the certificate) which allowed this mine to operate in nonconformance with local zoning regulations.  However, as a direct result of those discussions, certain terms were formally agreed by the parties and those were documented as terms of the certificate (highlighted areas are mine and represent areas of current violations).

On 4/21/2014, the Sandoval County Attorney filed this complaint in District Court, due to Lafarge’s failure to correct (or even acknowledge) violations of the Nonconformance Certificate (enforcement of zoning in our area now falls with the County, and the ETZ ceased to be).

At various dates, the defendants in the County complaint responded (clearly written as a collaboration between the defendants)—basically stating that the Nonconformance Certificate no longer applies (which would mean that there are no local zoning terms limiting or otherwise governing their operation), and that the County has no right to enforce them or take them to court over this.  The County obviously disagrees (and with no public hearing or discussion with the signatories who approved the 1988 Certificate, we would contend that this agreement could not have been set aside).

With the filing of this petition to intervene by members of the ES-CA Land Protection Trust Board of Directors (who individually own homes adjoining or near to the mine), we seek to represent the interests of the Placitas community who have strongly encouraged ES-CA to take this action.  With the filed complaint, we not only support the County’s position and charges, but we seek to augment the charges to include violations that the operation is “extending (time) and expanding (intensity)” beyond that which was intended when the nonconformance was permitted.

I have included these which clearly show the violations charged by the County.  And since these were taken, most surrounding residents know that the mining activity has substantially expanded and greatly enlarged the “disturbed area” which is the source of much of our dust on NM windy days.  (if you have access to Google Earth, go back and look at the size of the area being mined in 1996 and then look at the current area and see how much it has grown and the lack of any visible re-vegetation/reclaiming).

Finally, this document (from a website that tracks court cases) is the current status of the legal action—and shows the various challenges of judges, and that this is now in the hands of the Chief Judge for the court.  We hope that our intervention may help to put this on a faster track to a conclusion.

 

Please email me at the following address if you have questions about this or other mining activities that we are working hard to control.

Dick Ulmer, Chairman

ES-CA Land Use Protection Trust Board

LPT.ES-CA@comcast.net

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