EDITORIAL: Forestville crossroads

The Board of Supervisors will approach yet another crossroads
next week in the ongoing political struggle over hard rock mining
in Sonoma County.
It¹s a symbolic crossroads for the board, possibly to be seen as
a turning point in a slowly changing policy direction: Will they
continue on the road away from river gravel mining or will they
pause in the face of public outcry and environmental impacts raised
by the two recent hard-rock quarries in Forestville?
For the residents of Forestville, they are at much more real
crossroads. County supervisors recently approved a permit for the
Canyon Rock quarry to expand the area in which it mines, and next
week will consider an expansion plan for the Blue Rock quarry.
(Sept. 26 at 2:15 p.m. See page one story for details).
Both quarries are located just west of town and, if both plans
are approved as submitted, could send more than 1,000 gravel trucks
per day through the small West County community.
The quarry debate has taken on layers of complexity and there is
disagreement within the community, even among those who oppose the
mining plans. This week a group of protesters temporarily stalled
gravel trucks on their way through the busy intersection of Covey
Road and Highway 116, waving signs and shouting at truck drivers.
They called for an end to quarry mining and construction of the
bypass.
Last week, a group of Forestville citizens crafted a compromise
agreement with Blue Rock company officials to lessen the impacts of
that quarry¹s expansions, and the residents present at a town hall
meeting approved the agreement on a straw vote. How that compromise
will affect the outcome of next week¹s action by supervisors
remains to be seen.
Interestingly enough, some of the same parties involved in the
compromise with Blue Rock had previously filed a lawsuit against
the Canyon Rock plan after the Board of Supervisors approved
it.
Further adding to the political mélange is the long-awaited
Forestville bypass, the construction of which could hinge on
traffic impact fees paid by the quarry operators themselves. Many
in the community insist that the bypass be built before the mining
operations expand. Delays in the mining permit process could stall
the bypass project.
To their credit, Blue Rock officials and Forestville leaders
have crafted a good compromise that addresses many key issues and
still allows the company to phase in the expanded mining operation.
Why the same sort of compromise was not negotiated before legal
action was taken against Canyon Rock is unclear, but we encourage
those involved to consider a similar negotiated settlement.
When the dust finally settles in this struggle over rock
quarries in Forestville, let¹s hope a reasoned compromise will
benefit Forestville and that the supervisors will pay heed to the
roadside protests and the real needs of the community they
represent.
‹ Barry W. Dugan