Permanente Quarry: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Natural_"Permanente_Ridge"_buried_by_waste_material_by_Lehigh_Southwest_Quarry_2012-07.jpg |thumb |right |300px |Waste quarry material piled over natural "Permanente Ridge" is visible from much of the South Bay.]] |
[[File:Natural_"Permanente_Ridge"_buried_by_waste_material_by_Lehigh_Southwest_Quarry_2012-07.jpg |thumb |right |300px |Waste quarry material piled over natural "Permanente Ridge" is visible from much of the South Bay.]] |
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[[File:Hanson_Permanente_quarry.jpg |thumb |right |300px |A view of Lehigh Southwest Cement's Permanente Quarry looking north from the summit [[Black Mountain (near Los Altos, California)|Black Mountain]] across the quarry and over [[Silicon Valley]]]]. |
[[File:Hanson_Permanente_quarry.jpg |thumb |right |300px |A view of Lehigh Southwest Cement's Permanente Quarry looking north from the summit of [[Black Mountain (near Los Altos, California)|Black Mountain]] across the quarry and over [[Silicon Valley]]]]. |
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The '''Permanente Quarry''' is a [[limestone]] [[quarry]] in [[Cupertino]], [[California]].<ref> {{cite gnis|2674820|Permanente Quarry}}</ref> The quarry is a limestone and aggregate mining operation and cement plant, owned by Lehigh Southwest Cement, a subsidiary of [[HeidelbergCement]]. Located in the foothills above Cupertino on the northeast slopes of [[Black Mountain (near Los Altos, California)|Black Mountain]], the quarry runs east-west parallel to the upper watershed of [[Permanente Creek]] to the south and to Permanente Ridge and [[Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve]] to the north. |
The '''Permanente Quarry''' is a [[limestone]] [[quarry]] in [[Cupertino]], [[California]].<ref> {{cite gnis|2674820|Permanente Quarry}}</ref> The quarry is a limestone and aggregate mining operation and cement plant, owned by Lehigh Southwest Cement, a subsidiary of [[HeidelbergCement]]. Located in the foothills above Cupertino on the northeast slopes of [[Black Mountain (near Los Altos, California)|Black Mountain]], the quarry runs east-west parallel to the upper watershed of [[Permanente Creek]] to the south and to Permanente Ridge and [[Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve]] to the north. |
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The limestone rock found in the [[Permanente Creek]] valley and on the summit of Black Mountain is relatively unique in the [[Bay Area]]. Microfossils in the limestone deposits suggest that the mountain originated as a seamount at 22 degrees north in the tropical Pacific about 100 million years ago and was transported to [[Los Altos, California|Los Altos]] by the [[Pacific Plate]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Peninsula Trails and Tales |last=Weintraub |first=David |year=2003 |publisher=Graphic Arts Books |location=Portland, OR |isbn=1-55868-850-1 |page=384 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region |last=Sloan |first=Doris |page=172 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles, California |year=2006 |isbn=0-520-23629-7 }}</ref> |
The limestone rock found in the [[Permanente Creek]] valley and on the summit of Black Mountain is relatively unique in the [[Bay Area]]. Microfossils in the limestone deposits suggest that the mountain originated as a seamount at 22 degrees north in the tropical Pacific about 100 million years ago and was transported to [[Los Altos, California|Los Altos]] by the [[Pacific Plate]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Peninsula Trails and Tales |last=Weintraub |first=David |year=2003 |publisher=Graphic Arts Books |location=Portland, OR |isbn=1-55868-850-1 |page=384 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region |last=Sloan |first=Doris |page=172 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley and Los Angeles, California |year=2006 |isbn=0-520-23629-7 }}</ref> <ref> {{cite journal |title=Franciscan Complex Calera limestones: accreted remnants of Farallon Plate oceanic plateaus |authors=John A. Tarduno, Michael McWilliams, Michel G. Debiche, William V. Sliter, M. C. Blake |journal=Nature |volume=317 |year=1985 |url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v317/n6035/pdf/317345a0.pdf |accessdate=2012-08-23 }}</ref> These rocks occur as jagged gray boulders and outcrops just southwest of the radio towers on the summit of Black Mountain, as well as in the [[Permanente Quarry]]. ''Calera'' is the Spanish word for '[[limekiln]]', reflecting how limestone was burned historically to produce [[Lime (material)|lime]], an key ingredient for [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]].<ref> {{cite web |title=Calera Limestone, a Gift from the Ancient Pacific |author=Andrew Alden |publisher=Quest KQED |date=2011-04-14 |url=http://science.kqed.org/quest/2011/04/14/calera-limestone-a-gift-from-the-ancient-pacific/ |accessdate=2012-08-23 }}</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Revision as of 04:27, 24 August 2012
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The Permanente Quarry is a limestone quarry in Cupertino, California.[1] The quarry is a limestone and aggregate mining operation and cement plant, owned by Lehigh Southwest Cement, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement. Located in the foothills above Cupertino on the northeast slopes of Black Mountain, the quarry runs east-west parallel to the upper watershed of Permanente Creek to the south and to Permanente Ridge and Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve to the north.
The limestone rock found in the Permanente Creek valley and on the summit of Black Mountain is relatively unique in the Bay Area. Microfossils in the limestone deposits suggest that the mountain originated as a seamount at 22 degrees north in the tropical Pacific about 100 million years ago and was transported to Los Altos by the Pacific Plate.[2][3] [4] These rocks occur as jagged gray boulders and outcrops just southwest of the radio towers on the summit of Black Mountain, as well as in the Permanente Quarry. Calera is the Spanish word for 'limekiln', reflecting how limestone was burned historically to produce lime, an key ingredient for mortar.[5]
History
The quarry was originally founded by Henry J. Kaiser as the Kaiser Permanente Cement Plant in 1939, taking the name of the business from the Permanente Creek in whose valley it lies. Kaiser intended to use the quarry to provide the majority of the cement used in the construction of the Shasta Dam, supplying the 6 million barrels (950,000 m3) of cement .[6] The cement plant is the sole reason for the lone railroad line that runs through the city.
On October 5, 2011, the Lehigh Southwest Cement plant was the site of a shooting in which a disgruntled employee shot and killed three people, and wounded seven.[7]
Controversy
Under the terms of a 1985 reclamation plan, the quarry was not supposed to dump quarry waste materials more than 100 feet higher than the natural chapparal ridge known as Permanente Ridge. This waste material storage area, or WMSA, was piled on and above the Permanente Ridge and this brownish-gray scar is visible from much of the southern Bay Area - despite claims from the 2004 owner, Hanson Cement, that it was hydroseeded annually with native grass mix and that they planted 80% of the area in trees and shrubs, it remains (see photo inset) a barren zone, degrading the aesthetic value of the adjacent Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve.[8] This barren ridge line, referred to by Lehigh Southwest as the West Materials Storage Area (WMSA) is visible to much of the Silicon Valley.
On December 19th, 2011, the Sierra Club sued Lehigh Southwest Cement Company[9] and Heidelberg Cement in federal court to stop its unpermitted discharges of selenium and other toxic water pollutants into Permanente Creek. The Sierra Club maintains that Lehigh has been polluting Permanente Creek in violation of the clean water act for years. Lehigh's own water quality analyses have demonstrated that quarry pit wastewater that Lehigh discharges into the creek has been 16 times higher than Clean Water Act stream standards. The pollution is especially harmful to aquatic life in downstream areas such as Rancho San Antonio County Park, where selenium concentrations are often more than five times more dangerous than state and federal standards allow.
On June 7, 2012, the County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors approved amendments to the 1985 Permanente Quarry Reclamation Plan for Lehigh Southwest Cement Company, including approval of a new waste material storage area (EMSA) at the east end of the quarry. The newly approved Reclamation Plan has 89 conditions (significantly more than the 73 conditions in the 1985 Amendment), and calls for higher performance standards for re-vegetation of all disturbed areas, minimizing selenium runoff and an increased level of reporting and monitoring. The Board also ratified the Final Environmental Impact Report in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "Permanente Quarry". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ Weintraub, David (2003). Peninsula Trails and Tales. Portland, OR: Graphic Arts Books. p. 384. ISBN 1-55868-850-1.
- ^ Sloan, Doris (2006). Geology of the San Francisco Bay Region. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press. p. 172. ISBN 0-520-23629-7.
- ^ "Franciscan Complex Calera limestones: accreted remnants of Farallon Plate oceanic plateaus" (PDF). Nature. 317. 1985. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
{{cite journal}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter|authors=(help) - ^ Andrew Alden (2011-04-14). "Calera Limestone, a Gift from the Ancient Pacific". Quest KQED. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
- ^ Shasta Dam - Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^ Prodis Sulek, Julia (5 October 2011). "Cupertino quarry shooting suspect who killed 3, wounded 7 still on loose". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 5 October 2011.
- ^ Stewart Smith (2004-07). "The Quarry's Perspective: Reclamation status of Hanson Quarry". Committee on Green Foothills. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ferrier, Mike (19 December 2011). "Sierra Club Files Suit Against Lehigh for Permanente Creek Pollution" (PDF). Sierra Club Press Release. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ Gwendolyn Mitchell (2012-06-26). "County Upholds Planning Commission Approval of Lehigh Permanente Quarry Reclamation Plan Amendment". Santa Clara County. Retrieved 2012-08-04.
External links
- Map images of the quarry.
- Committee for Green Foothills (group against expansion of the quarry)
- News article about the cement plant
- Information on the City of Cupertino Website
37°19′11″N 122°06′49″W / 37.319627°N 122.113552°W
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