San Rafael Rock Quarry
Background of Lawsuits
On September 21, 2001, the California State Attorney General, the
State of California’s primary legal enforcement
arm, filed suit in Marin County Superior Court against
The San Rafael Rock Quarry (“SRRQ”), The
Dutra Companies (“Dutra”) and Bill T. Dutra
and Aimi Dutra, the principal owners of Dutra and SRRQ. The
state’s complaint seeks: 1.)
relief from the continuing nuisances created by the
intensifying of the operations of SRRQ; 2.) relief
from SRRQ’s alleged violations of its 1982 Amended
Reclamation Plan (“Reclamation Plan”);
3.) remedies for the violation of the zoning regulations
applicable to SRRQ site; and, 4.) disgorgement of profits
earned by Dutra from its unfair business practices.
For
nearly ten-years, the neighbors surrounding SRRQ have
sought relief from the every increasing intensity
of the Dutra’s management of SRRQ. Studies
conducted by the
County of Marin,
and confirmed by State experts, have found quantities
of fugitive dust that exceed established federal standards
for respirable particulate and inhaled particulate
mass, i.e., air quality and health standards, and,
thus, constitute a threat to health of SRRQ’s
neighbors. The blasting conducted by Dutra has
resulted in material and episodic damage to the homes
of near-by residents, created major toxic dust clouds,
and caused anxiety and anguish to SRRQ’s neighbors.
The rezoning of the SRRQ site in 1982 prohibited the owners of SRRQ from increasing the intensity of SRRQ’s operations beyond those of 1982. The State’s complaint alleges that since Dutra has owned SRRQ, the quarry’s operations have been increased many fold, in direct violation of the zoning provisions that apply to SRRQ. This intensification has been evidenced by increased blasting intensity and frequency; by the addition of major new rock crushing and related equipment with many times the processing capacity of the machinery in place in 1982; by material increases in heavy truck traffic to and from SRRQ along Point San Pedro Road; by increased noise from around-the-clock quarry crushing, material moving and related mining and quarrying operations; and, by a dramatic widening of the “footprint” of SRRQ’s “pit”.
The California Surface Mining and Reclamation Act of 1975 (“SMARA”) requires that all mines file with the state a comprehensive reclamation plan, including the posting of a financial bond sufficient to ensure the full reclamation of the mine and adjoining site. The amended Reclamation Plan filed with the State by SRRQ in 1982 specified that SRRQ would cease its operations by 1993. Further the reclamation plan included a topographical map specifying the maximum allowable dimensions of SRRQ’s rock pit. In March 2000, the Planning Commission of Marin County found that SRRQ’s operations had “substantially deviated” from its reclamation plan and that the plan was incomplete. Further, in April 2000, the Marin County Department of Public Works issued to SRRQ a notice of non-compliance with its 1982 Amended Reclamation Plan. Specifically, the County found that SRRQ, under Dutra’s management, had exceeded the maximum allowable depth of its pit by over 50-feet; and that the dimensions of the pit also had materially exceeded the final footprint described in SRRQ’s 1982 Amended Reclamation Plan in several dimensions.
SRRQ’s 1982 Amended Reclamation Plan included limitations on the amount of truck traffic coming to and from SRRQ as well as the requirement that the vast majority of materials be shipped from SRRQ by barge. The State’s complaint alleges that SRRQ has vastly exceeded these traffic limitations and has failed to live up to the requirement of shipping most of its materials by water. Further, significantly increased heavy truck traffic imposes negative health, safety and welfare impacts on SRRQ’s neighbors as a result of the spewing of fugitive dust and toxic diesel engine exhaust emissions.
The State Attorney General’s complaint against SRRQ and Dutra also alleges that Dutra engaged in unfair business practices by installing administrative offices, expanding residences on SRRQ site and improving a boat dock. All of this was done without obtaining or paying for the necessary building permits, or without paying increased taxes that would have resulted from the re-appraisal of SRRQ site. Further, the State alleges that Dutra competed unfairly because of its failure to comply with the terms of its zoning, with the requirements of its amended 1982 Reclamation Plan, and with the limitations placed on SRRQ’s truck traffic and mix of shipping methods.