Take action today for Cache Creek habitat

By Catherine Portman

Urge the Yolo County Board of Supervisors to postpone the Dec 9^th vote on Cemex’s application to extend the Granite Capay Mining and Reclamation permit another 10 years. Send your comments to clerkoftheboard@yolocounty.org and Lucas.Frerichs@yolocounty.gov

Almost 30 years ago, I participated in the Cache Creek “gravel wars”. We believed the aggregate industry could mine gravel and reclaim mined areas. The County adopted the Cache Creek Area Plan (CCAP) which included reclamation requirements prioritizing reclamation of farmland, then secondarily habitat.

Well, after all these years the reclamation hasn’t worked out too good. Turns out it is very difficult to meet the “healthy soil” requirements of the Surface Mining Reclamation Ordinance. It takes a long time to accumulate enough soil to put back to recreate an ag field. And when the soil is stored so long it loses its mojo according to a soil assessment by consultants House & House.  The assessment identified one reclaimed ag field produced only wheat but before it was mined it produced sunflower, corn, tomatoes and peppers.

Habitat reclamation is sad too. Deep pit mining was supposed to result in recreational lakes in a proposed Cache Creek Parkway. Turns out the stagnant water in the pits has high levels of methyl mercury that precludes recreational use—also not too good for fish and water fowl. The Cemex application adds two more, larger (204 acres) deep pits. Some of the pits are into the water table so ground water goes into the pits and evaporates from the surface further depleting ground water. Lakes were not the natural ecosystem of the Creek—riparian floodplain was.

After almost 30 years, previously mined habitat restoration efforts, such as for elderberry,  have been very slow and difficult. Vegetation, shrub and tree plantings struggle and are stunted. Cemex’s current proposal delays habitat restoration to 2052.

The solution to many problems is the County’s General Plan CO A44 to coordinate individual surface mining reclamation plans so that an expanded riparian corridor can be achieved.

Changing the priority reclamation to riparian floodplain advances several goals; the County’s climate action  CAAP (riparian floodplain sequesters more carbon) ; the goals of the Yolo Habitat Conservancy for a wildlife corridor along the Creek; Yolo Flood Controls efforts to recharge ground water table and aligns with California Dept. of Natural Resources “nature based solutions climate targets”.

Cemex’s application comes when critical County departments have been reshuffled and a key department head position is vacant. Staff, who could provide the Supervisors with accurate information and advise them, are missing.

This is the BOS’s opportunity to require the aggregate industry to fix what they broke.

Postponing the vote to extend Cemex’s permit will allow the BOS time to secure a reclamation plan prioritizing habitat and restore a healthy ecosystem in Cache Creek.

Email your comments to  clerkoftheboard@yolocounty.org