The final environmental impact report for the Liberty Quarry project won't be released "any time soon" and a new draft of the 7,000-page report could be recirculated, according to the county's point man on the quarry application.

If another draft report is recirculated ---- planning parlance that means the report would be published for review by the public and state and local agencies ---- it would delay the project being brought before the county's Planning Commission by months.

David Jones, the county's chief engineering geologist, said the volume of comments that were submitted and the public interest in the project ---- it has been championed by some county economists and decried by hundreds of residents ---- has made the project a priority for planning staff and they are making sure the final report will be ironclad from both a planning and legal perspective.

"This is a big one," Jones said.

Northern California-based Granite Construction has been working since 2005 to dig a large quarry on county land near the southwestern corner of Temecula, acreage that abuts the San Diego County community of Rainbow. The project was initially going to cover 155 acres and produce 5 million tons of granite each year, but it has since been trimmed to 135 acres due to concerns about how the quarry could affect a neighboring landowner as a well as a special corridor for migrating wildlife.

The project has been opposed by rural residents of Rainbow and De Luz, the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Indians, Temecula city officials and residents who live in the Redhawk area of Temecula, a neighborhood downwind of the proposed mining site. The opponents have argued that the mine will negatively affect the area's housing values, the county's Wine Country tourism industry and the health of people who live nearby.

The project is supported by people who claim it will add quality jobs and produce aggregate construction material that is needed for a large variety of infrastructure and housing projects. Granite also has said the project will improve air quality in the region by taking big rigs off the stretch of Interstate 15 that runs through Temecula.

The comment period on the draft version of the report that was released last July, a voluminous tome that contains reams of studies on traffic, air quality and environmental issues associated with the proposed quarry, closed in November and county planning officials have been working since then to address the comments that were received.

Jones said recently that the county has received a "piece of a piece" of an official response to some of the comments from a county land use consultant, but he couldn't comment on its contents until either the final report or a new draft report is issued.

As the county starts stacking up the official responses, it will work with its attorneys, Jones said, to determine if all of the responses shield the county from possible legal challenges to the document.

If there is a concern by the attorneys that something is missing or something is incomplete according to state environmental law, the report will be recirculated, he said.

Explaining how the two possible scenarios would play out, Jones said that if the county decides to release a final report it will be made available for review for a window of time before the project would be scheduled for a commission hearing.

At the hearing, the commission would receive comments from everyone opposed to the project as well as those in favor. Jones said that hearing might be stretched out over the course of multiple days and/or staged in a large auditorium.

The county is anticipating a high level of interest in the hearing based on the hundreds of people who gathered in Riverside last year for a Local Agency Formation Commission hearing on whether Temecula should be allowed to annex a large swath of land that included the quarry, a request that was ultimately denied following a nine-hour marathon session.

The location of the auditorium that will be site of the hearing has been a subject of some speculation among residents, who have said they hope the hearing is held in the Temecula area.

Jones said a location in Southwest County would be high on the county's list of possible sites, but he said no decision has been made on where to stage it.

If the commission supports the idea of moving forward, the quarry project would go before the county Board of Supervisors.

If the county decides against issuing a final report, a new draft version of the report would be recirculated and the process that unfolded in July of last year would be repeated:

-- the draft report would be available for comment for a period of 30, 60 or 90 days

-- the county would work to address the comments in a final report

Karie Reuther, a Granite spokeswoman, said the company's preference is for the final report to be issued sooner rather than later.

"It's been a long process ... but we're sure the county is going to release it when it's appropriate," she said.

Kathleen Hamilton of De Luz, one of the leading opponents of the quarry, said that if she had her druthers, a draft report would be recirculated before a final is published.

"What's a little more work if the thing is going to be done right, or at least better?" she asked.

Call staff writer Aaron Claverie at 951-676-4315, ext. 2624.