Proposal would shut down Marina’s controversial sand mining plant

UPDATE: 6/27/17 6:30 p.m.: The controversial sand mining plant in Marina could shut down in three years.

On Tuesday, the California Coastal Commission released a proposed agreement with Cemex, outlining how the plant would be phased out.

Cemex has already signed the agreement, but the commission still has to hear the issue at a public meeting in Monterey on July 13.

Local advocacy groups are almost calling this a victory.

“We just can’t wait to get that final piece from the coastal commissioners, then we will be popping the Champaign,” said Katherine O’dea, executive director of nonprofit Save Our Shores. “It’s a little bit of a compromise. We would like to see them shuttered tomorrow. But three years I think is a good gift, if you will, to say, ok, in the long run, we’ve really won, we are getting that land saved in perpetuity.”

The agreement found Cemex’s operation without a permit to be in violation of the California Coastal Act.
Until it’s closed, the company is allowed to take 240,000 tons of sand a year, the equivalent of 55 Olympic sized pools.

After it shuts down, the proposed agreement also orders Cemex to restore the property.
Then it can sell it at a reduced price to a non-profit or a governmental entity approved by the coastal commission.

“Cemex has done a great job at natural restoration of sand dune habitat on site already, where they’ve completed restoration on no longer needed areas. And so I’m sure … the disturbed areas you see there now will look like after reclamation,” said Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado.

And the two dozen employees at the plant will help the company with restoration for another three years.
Delgado said even though coastal erosion will continue to accelerate in the meantime, it also gives those working at Cemex sometime to look for new jobs.

“It would be preferable to keep local jobs for the long term instead of six years, but I think that the difference between losing their jobs today or tomorrow or next year and having a job change happen in six years is a big difference,” Delgado said.

In a statement to KION, Cemex Maintains it has been operating responsibly and claims that the plant contributing to erosion is oversimplifying the issue.

But the company said it has agreed to phase out its operations.

PREVIOUS STORY: Cemex Lapis in Marina is the last coastal sand mine in the United States.

The company extracts sand through an artificial dredge pond on land near the Pacific Ocean.

Some scientists believe the operation is responsible for erosion and disappearance of public beaches along the Monterey Coast.

“The proposal ends the nation’s last coastal sand mining operation, a milestone that is both significant and symbolic of the value California attaches to its environmental heritage, and its commitment to a sustainable future economy,” said Lt. Governor Newsom, who helped guide the negotiations. “The terms offer a much faster resolution and termination of the beach-dredging operations than the alternative of protracted litigation and court hearings with uncertain outcomes. I’m grateful to staff at the Coastal Commission and State Lands Commission for their partnership and resolute stance, which have delivered a good result for Monterey County’s environment and economy.”

KION’s Linda Zhang will have the full story at 6 p.m.