Baja Sand Exports May Halt
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20030130-9999_1n30...
By Sandra Dibble
January 30, 2003
ENSENADA ? Mexico's sand moves by barge from Ensenada and by train from Tecate, mined from Baja California's riverbeds to meet the pressing demands of
San Diego's construction industry.
But what looked like a booming future for Baja California sand exports now appears bleak: Gov. Eugenio Elorduy is calling for an end to the northbound
flow, saying the rush for sand is harming his state's environment and depleting the local supply.
"We're hoping that in another two to three months, that this is over," the governor said last week. "California will have to make other arrangements
on this matter ... We don't think it's fair that we are the supplier."
Those were the strongest public statements yet against sand exports from Mexico into the United States, a controversial issue in Baja California that
has put an essential but little known industry squarely in the public eye.
The sudden surge in Baja California sand mining operations over the past two years, prompted largely by San Diego's demand, has alarmed Mexican
officials, who fear damage to ecologically sensitive riverbeds and aquifers. A substantial part of San Diego County's sand sources have either been
covered by development or protected by environmental regulations. Permits are available, but the process is slow and costly, so the construction
industry must import almost half the 3.5 million tons of construction-grade sand it uses each year.
"People see foundations, roads, sidewalks, but they don't think, where does this come from, how much does it take to build this?" said Stephen
Bledsoe, director of the Southern California Rock Products Association.
Unlike the broad deposits of easily accessible sand found in other parts of California, San Diego's supply is largely confined to long, narrow
riverbeds and "there's heavy environmental impacts when you mine sand from them," said Russ Miller, a senior geologist with the California Geological
Survey. The county's many endangered species also create regulatory hurdles and expense for sand mine operators.
For years, San Diego looked north for sand, getting deliveries by truck from Los Angeles and Riverside counties. But "the transportation costs eat you
alive," said Warren Coalson, a mining consultant to several San Diego suppliers.
Coalson once considered bringing in sand from the Palm Springs area, where it is plentiful. But the costs of shipping it by train to Los Angeles and
then to San Diego were prohibitive.
Eager to keep down costs, San Diego concrete manufacturers began turning to Baja California for sand in the mid-1990s.
It seemed ideal: Not only is Baja California close, but the Mexican government doesn't limit the amount of sand carried across the border and imposes
no tariffs on it. The sand could also be moved by rail and barge, which is less expensive than truck service.
"Mexico is able to compete very well because of transportation," Coalson said.
Many also believe that, away from the crowded border areas, Baja California has vast undeveloped sources of sand. "We're just scratching the surface
down there," Coalson said.
But Elorduy worries that his state is paying an environmental price for restrictive policies north of the border.
"Over there, you can't even move a little flower," he said. "Baja California has become the place to come and get sand to meet California's needs."
Earlier this month, Elorduy and Victor Lichtinger, head of Mexico's environmental ministry, Semarnat, agreed to take joint action against illegal
operators.
Forty-six of the state's sand-mining operations have been either partially or temporarily shut down for violating federal mining concessions or
environmental permits. The remaining 17 are being scrutinized.
But the regulators who issue licenses say they are handicapped by a lack of data about the state's riverbeds. Sand reserves are replenished with
rainfall, but each river system is different. So it's difficult to determine how much sand each mining company can safely remove, said Carlos de la
Parra, head of Semarnat in Baja California.
"It's as simple as trying to assess what we can do with a forest," he said. "If you don't know how many trees there are, and you don't know what the
rate of renewal is, how do you go in and cut them? The fact of the matter is that we've been cutting these trees for quite some time, and now the time
has come to say, 'Listen, we'd better deal with this in a more integral fashion.' "
Jorge Escobar Mart?nez, who heads Baja California's Ecology Department, said illegal operations have already damaged at least 10 riverbeds,
particularly those in the Guadalupe and Las Palmas valleys south of Tecate.
"We know enough to take action," Escobar said.
The company that stands to lose most if Baja California stops exporting sand is a joint venture called Petreos del Pacifico. The company was formed in
2001 by a well-established Baja California construction company, Amaya Curiel, and British-based Hanson Aggregates, which has offices in San Diego.
Petreos del Pacifico also mines rock at a quarry outside Ensenada, sending the product to Long Beach.
General Manager Roberto Curiel Ortega said Petreos del Pacifico has invested close to $40 million to develop the infrastructure for sand and rock
mining, including a port facility at Ensenada and barges to carry the material to California.
"Baja California is a natural market, not just for one exporter, but for two or three," Curiel said. "They say they don't want sand exports, but we
don't understand ? it's a natural resource, like steel, copper and petroleum."
Petreos del Pacifico's sand is mined in a quiet agricultural valley east of Ensenada called Ojos Negros. Trucks rumble almost daily down a solitary
dirt road, toward the soft piles that rise from the broad bed of the El Barbon River. They carry the sand to Ensenada, where it is blended with
crushed stone and shipped by barge to San Diego.
"This is not some fly-by-night, 'let's go to the river and start digging' proposition. In our view, this is a 50-year-plus project," said David
Hummel, president of Hanson Aggregates' Pacific Southwest Region. "If you're going to be in it for the long term, you'd better be doing it right."
But Curiel's mining operations haven't escaped the crackdown by Mexican authorities. An official with Mexico's environmental Police, Profepa, said
Petreos del Pacifico and its predecessor, Amaya Curiel, have been shut down five times since 2001.
"It's such big money that they think they can fool around and do things as they wish, without respect to the law," Elorduy said of the Curiel
enterprises. "This is intolerable in the state that I govern, as it is intolerable, I am sure, in California."
Curiel said his company has quickly rectified each violation and is eager to comply with Baja California's evolving environmental standards. He has
also tried repeatedly to meet with Elorduy to address the criticism, he said, but without success.
"This has been a learning experience for us, as well," he said. "We haven't made this size of an investment to put it at risk."
While Petreos del Pacifico exports all its materials by barge, another company has been sending sand by rail from Tecate to Campo, on the Carrizo
Gorge Railway.
The sand is mined in Valle de las Palmas by a Mexican concession holder, then moved across the border by Carrizo Gorge Aggregates, which sells it to
concrete manufacturers in San Diego.
At first, it seemed like a promising venture.
But as government surveillance stepped up, the flow became less reliable. The train's load is now only about 1,000 tons a week, said Benny Wright,
president of Carrizo Gorge Aggregates.
"In the future, we're not going to mess with Mexico," Wright said. "We're just going to go to a different source."
If the governor succeeds in shutting off the northbound flow, San Diego will have alternatives, Coalson and other industry watchers agree.
"We'll import more from Riverside County," Coalson said, "but the cost goes way up."
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