BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL
QUARRY SUBCOMMITTEE
APRIL 23, 2026
Presented by:
Dave Brown, Benchmark Resources
and Jim Summers, DeSilva Gates
PRESENTERS
• Dave Brown, Principal, Benchmark Resources
- 40 years experience in California mine planning, permitting and compliance. Worked on hundreds of sites in 2/3 of California Counties.
• Jim Summers, PE, Vice President, DeSilva Gates Construction - 40 years experience as Bay Area contractor and mining operator.
Managed reclamation at former mines in the Bay Area.
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
• Overview of California Mining and Minerals
• Key Purposes and Provisions of the California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA)
• Guadalupe Quarry Future and SMARA Requirements
OVERVIEW OF CALIFORNIA MINING
AND MINERALS
TOP THREE CALIFORNIA INDUSTRIES
High Tech Aerospace
Agriculture
TOP THREE CALIFORNIA INDUSTRIES
ANNUAL USE OF CONSTRUCTION AGGREGATES
• California Uses 180 Million Tons of Construction Aggregates Annually:
Though relatively unheralded, industrial-mineral commodities form the backbone of our industrialized society, and although they lack the glamour of the precious metals they are used daily in huge quantities worth millions of dollars… The importance of these commodities, not only to use but to future generations of Californians, is impossible to ignore and difficult to over-state. - Industrial Minerals in California: Economic Importance, Present Availability, and Future Development, Special Publication 105 (California Department of Conservation, 1990)
KEY PURPOSES AND PROVISIONS OF THE
CALIFORNIA SURFACE MINING AND RECLAMATION ACT
(SMARA)
PURPOSE OF SMARA SECTION 2711 (a) – (c)
• The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the extraction of minerals is essential to the continued economic well-being of the state and to the needs of the society, and that the reclamation of mined lands is necessary to prevent or minimize adverse effects on the environment and to protect the public health and safety. • The Legislature further finds that the reclamation of mined lands as provided in this chapter will permit the continued mining of minerals and will provide for the protection and subsequent beneficial use of the mined and reclaimed land. • The Legislature further finds that surface mining takes place in diverse areas where the geologic, topographic, climatic, biological, and social conditions are significantly different and that reclamation operations and the specifications therefore may vary accordingly.
PURPOSE OF SMARA SECTION 2711 (d) – (f)
• The Legislature further finds that the production and development of local mineral resources that help maintain a strong economy and that are necessary to build the state’s infrastructure are vital to reducing transportation emissions that result from the distribution of hundreds of millions of tons of construction aggregates that are used annually in building and maintaining the state.
• The Legislature further finds and recognizes the need of the state to provide local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and other relevant planning agencies with the information necessary to identify and protect mineral resources within general plans.
• The Legislature further finds that the state’s mineral resources are vital, finite, and important natural resources and the responsible protection and development of these mineral resources is vital to a sustainable California.
HOME RULE AND THE LEAD AGENCY ROLE
• “California is unique among the western states in many ways. California has been a home-rule state since 1850, where all land-use decisions, including those regarding mining, are made at the local level. Permits must comply with all applicable state and federal law, but the final conditional mining permit is issued by local government.” (SMGB Information Report, No. 2007-04.)
• “In keeping with…the diverse conditions throughout the state, SMARA provides for ‘home rule,’ with the local lead agency having primary responsibility.” (DOC v. El Dorado County (2005) 36 Cal.4th 971, 984.) SMARA MANDATES:
MINERAL RESOURCE PLANNING
SMARA MANDATES:
RECLAMATION PLANNING
WHAT IS A RECLAMATION PLAN?
• “The operator’s approved plan for reclaiming the lands affected by his surface mining operations…”
• It is not a requirement to restore the land to a pre-mined condition • Land Use Entitlement, Not an Environmental Permit
• Must Have a Permit to Mine (Vested Right or Conditional Use Permit) • Runs with the Property
• Operator Has a Right to Complete Reclamation Per the Approved Plan • Cannot be Modified Unless Amended Voluntarily by Operator or Amendment Triggered Under SMARA §2777, 14 CCR §3502(e)
RECLAMATION PLAN COMPONENTS
• Meet the State Standards
- Quantity and type of materials, initiation and termination dates, depth of mining and physical conditions of the site (Pre 1993 Statutes:
§ 2772 and Regulations § 3502)
- Backfilling, grading and slope stability, revegetation, drainage, surface and groundwater, wildlife habitat, etc. (Post 1993: § 2772, 2773 and Regulations § 3502, 3700)
• Performance Standards are not Prescriptive, intended so site-specific conditions are taken into consideration
• End Use preferences are specified by operator and landowner
ANNUAL REQUIREMENTS
• Annual Reports (MRRC-2, Operator Prepared)
• Annual Inspection and Report (MRRC-1, Lead Agency Prepared) • Updated Financial Assurance Cost Estimates (FACEs) and Mechanisms (FAMs)
• Fees Paid to State
• Lead Agency Recovers “Reasonable Expenses”
BAY AREA RECLAMATION EXAMPLES
LEONA QUARRY
LA VISTA QUARRY
GUADALUPE QUARRY FUTURE
AND SMARA REQUIREMENTS
GUADALUPE QUARRY PATHWAYS
CONTINUE OPERATIONS
ASPHALT PRODUCTION OPERATIONS
CONSTRUCTION FILL OPERATIONS
GUADALUPE QUARRY PATHWAYS
IMPLEMENT INDUSTRIAL PARK RECLAMATION
APPROVED RECLAMATION PLAN
APPROVED RECLAMATION PLAN
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• California’s economic wealth and continued prosperity is dependent upon its mineral resources. They are protected by statute. • Mining and reclamation approvals are property rights. • SMARA has multiple mandates, one is to ensure that reclamation is completed for a beneficial second land use.
• Guadalupe Quarry’s future is at a crossroad