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SUMMARY
- Sand originating in the mountains of the Sierra Juarez
is being deposited in El Barbon Wash. Normal geologic accretion in this
region is attributed to the valley slope being much smaller than the
mountain slope.
- The deposited sand is high-quality construction-grade material and therefore,
marketable to potential customers elsewhere.
- Current environmental regulations in the United States have
effectively discouraged sand-mining operators from continuing to mine streambeds
in Southern California. In the meantime, the cost of sand has nearly doubled,
setting the stage for import.
- The sand extracted from El Barbon Wash is transported by trucks to Ensenada,
where it is shipped to destinations in Southern California. The sand is being
used as an aggregate for cement and asphaltic concrete.
- Sediment routing computations show that the amount of sand that is likely to be deposited
in a 13.5-km reach, overlapping the current permitted reach, is 5.5 million cubic meters
in a period of 50 years.
- Properly executed, sand mining will have moderate environmental impacts,
including impacts to groundwater, riparian habitat, noise and dust pollution, and landscape aesthetics.
- The socio-economic impacts of sand mining in El Barbon Wash include the right of passage through private property,
the effect on the local sand market and the local economy, and the effect on the transportation infrastructure.
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