TENTATIVE DATE. PLEASE NOTE THIS WORKSHOP MAY BE RESCHEDULED DUE TO COUNTY DELAYS.
Juristac DEIR Comment Writing Workshop presented by Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and the Protect Juristac coalition.
Tuesday, April 26th
6:00-7:30pm: Presentations
7:30-8:30pm: Optional workshopping/ letter drafting time
Register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_D-a4jHl-TbGr4Ut2Yjh1Yg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
The long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed Sargent Quarry Project that threatens Juristac is scheduled for publication on April 14, opening a 60-day public comment period.
Join representatives from the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the law firm Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger for a workshop focused on writing effective DEIR comment letters to challenge the Sargent Quarry project. After the presentations and Q&A, there will be workshop time at the end for breakout groups where individuals can share ideas, ask more detailed questions, and work on their personal comment letter drafts.
Background:
The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band and a coalition of partner organizations are calling on you to support the protection of Juristac by submitting a comment letter opposing the Sargent Quarry project and critiquing the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR). According to the Santa Clara County Planning Department, the DEIR will be published on April 14, at which time a 60-day public comment period will begin during which your voice is needed.
This proposed sand and gravel mining project would desecrate the sacred landscape known as Juristac, the “place of the Big Head,” and Big Head dances associated with the powerful spiritual being Kuksui. Juristac is a location of the utmost cultural and spiritual importance to the Amah Mutsun, where tribal members historically lived, gathered medicines and conducted healing ceremonies. Today the Amah Mutsun are working hard to protect this landscape and bring back Indigenous management to the land. Environmental partners including Green Foothills, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, and many others are greatly concerned about the ecological harm that would result from this sand and gravel mining project. The open space and high quality habitats found at Juristac are essential for local wildlife, providing an important corridor connecting the Santa Cruz, Gablian and Diablo mountain ranges.
The soon to be released draft Environmental Impact Report will discuss the cultural and environmental impacts of this project but will contain many omissions and deficiencies. The public comment writing workshop will offer an overview of the DEIR, highlighting key sections of the report to focus on when writing comment letters.
What is the Sargent Quarry DEIR?
The Sargent Ranch Management Company, owned by the Debt Acquisition Company of America, has applied for a conditional use permit from Santa Clara County to operate a sand and gravel quarry at Sargent Ranch, the heart of the Juristac Tribal Cultural Landscape.
The Santa Clara County Planning Department has conducted an analysis, called a draft Environmental Impact Report, of the proposed open-pit sand and gravel mine. This review is required through the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which mandates that local and state governments consider a broad spectrum potential environmental impacts of a project before deciding whether to approve it.
The release of the report will begin a 60 day public comment period where experts and members of the general public alike can read the DEIR and make comments on its contents and conclusions. At the end of the comment period the Planning Department will review and respond to submitted comments through a final EIR which will state who commented, what the comments were, and the response of the County. This is where the Planning Department is required to consider and address substantive comments, omissions and factual errors.
The Planning Department will then present the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) to the Santa Clara County Planning Commission, which will vote whether or not to certify the FEIR and, probably at the same time, whether to approve the conditional use permit. These decisions are appealable to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, which would then have the final say. Their decision could only be challenged by a lawsuit.
Your voice matters in this process and can provide crucial support by helping the county understand why they need to deny this mining permit and protect Juristac.