Pala Reservation mine to close in September

By: TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer | Thursday, June 2, 2005 11:35 PM PDT ∞

FALLBROOK ---- A 45-year-old rock and sand mine on the Pala Indian Reservation will officially close later this year, Vulcan Materials Co. officials said Thursday.

Vulcan sales manager Dain Deforest confirmed the mine's closure Thursday, and said that all of the products previously sold there ---- including asphalt, concrete, sand, rocks and gravel ---- had been phased out.

Frequented in the past by local builders in large part because of its asphalt production, estimated at 300,000 tons per year, the mine now consists of a huge open lot, a cashier's shack, maintenance buildings and an administrative trailer.

Site foreman Jim Goodpasture, a member of the Pala tribe and seven-year Vulcan employee, said three structures have already been torn down at the 300-acre mine, a mile east of the Pala Casino.

Standing at the edge of the sprawling open-air mine Thursday, Goodpasture pointed to where the asphalt, concrete and rock plants stood, and explained that Vulcan employees have begun reclaiming the land before returning it to the Pala band Sept. 24.

That includes replanting vegetation, grading and digging up soil contaminated by underground oil tanks, he said, adding that the lease expires in 2011.

"We're pretty much done now ---- we've torn everything down and sold all the product," Goodpasture said. "This was a busy plant ---- the only one out this way. It's been here a long time."

While some have said the tribe refused to renew the mine's lease, Goodpasture disagreed, saying the area within the lease had been depleted and no longer had material to mine.

"I get tired of hearing, 'The Indians are kicking them out,' " he said. "This was a good thing for the tribe over all the years."

Vulcan's Western Division Vice President of Resources Steve Cortner confirmed Thursday that the mine's supplies had been exhausted, saying that the Pala band "has been great to work with."

"Under our existing mine plan, we have no more minable material," Cortner said. "We would love to have more material there ---- it's been a great operation and a great partnership with the Pala band of Indians. We're now in the reclamation phases where you do your contouring, replanting and erosion control."

Dan Fouchier, public works consultant for the San Diego Engineering and General Contractors Association, said Thursday that the closure of Vulcan's Pala facility adds to what he described as an asphalt-shortage crisis.

Closing the Pala rock and asphalt plant "is very significant, because that means there's about 300,000 tons of asphalt per year, and about 1.5 million tons of rock and sand, that is no longer available on the market," he said. "The second thing it means is that there's only one asphalt plant in North County."

Considered by many builders as an essential part of development, asphalt has a "shelf life" of two hours once it is prepared because of it must be kept hot, Fouchier said.

"The farther away you have to truck it, the more it costs and the greater the likelihood that you won't have availability," he said. "This is going to affect the entire region ---- there are going to be asphalt shortages beginning in a couple of years. You won't even be able to buy it under certain circumstances, no matter what the cost."

Fouchier said an asphalt shortage would delay major road improvement projects and would have an even greater effect on smaller projects, such as driveways and private roads.

Five miles west of the Vulcan mine, developers at Rosemary's Mountain said that they hope within the next few years to begin mining many of the materials that were produced at the Pala rock and asphalt plant.

Granite Construction project manager Gary Johnson said in December that his company needed to complete an estimated $10 million in road improvements and gain approval from the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife and the California Department of Fish and Game before beginning operations.

Once built, the 96-acre Rosemary's Mountain quarry will annually supply about 1 million tons of asphalt and "aggregates," or rock and sand of various sizes, for local construction projects.

Elsewhere in North County, residents have fought facilities that would produce asphalt, such as the one proposed by Vulcan in Escondido in 2003, and another proposed as an expansion to an existing Romero Construction facility in Valley Center.

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 731-5799 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.