"On June 22, I attended the most extraordinary Riverside County Planning Commission hearing on Granite Construction's environmental impact report on the proposed Liberty Quarry.

Anyone who sat through the 15-hour marathon hearing could not come away without the firm conclusion that Granite's EIR is seriously flawed and that it is an attempt by a mega corporation to "put one over on" the residents of the Temecula Valley.

Powerful presentations by the experts of city of Temecula, the Pechanga Tribe, the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve (SDSU's ecological reserve), various lawyers representing groups and amazingly well-informed public testimony opposed this terrible project.

Representatives of the Pechanga Tribe were absolutely brilliant in their presentations. They clearly showed that the planners had ignored their sacred mountain's spiritual and religious significance to the tribe and had followed a narrow California Environmental Quality Act guideline about artifacts on the property. As their tribal chairman, Mark Macarro, so eloquently stated, Plymouth Rock has no artifacts on it or anything to designate its historical importance nor does Gethsemane. Historical knowledge passed down makes these places valuable, important and spiritual."

Get the Story:
Barbara Wilder: Experts highlight Granite's EIR flaws (The North County Times 6/29)

Also Today:
TEMECULA: Next Liberty Quarry meeting is July 18 (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 6/29)

Related Stories:
Pechanga Band continues fight against proposed quarry mine (6/23)
Pechanga Band says quarry mine will destroy sacred site (4/27)