TEMECULA -- A state agency sees it as nothing more than an acknowledgment of what anyone driving down the freeway can see: There are a lot of rocks in the hills southwest of Temecula.

But to the city, it is an effort by the state to boost the chances of a quarry being built in those hills, and officials aren't taking it lightly.

The State Mining and Geology Board voted last week to classify the site for Granite Construction Co.'s proposed Liberty Quarry as land with recognized mineral deposits that should be considered in land-use planning.

"The classification basically answers the question: Is there a marketable amount of sand and aggregate at the site? Yes," said Stephen Testa, executive officer of the state mining board. "What the board did was to accept the state geologist's report."

Temecula officials, however, view the classification as the first governmental decision leading to the development of the 155-acre quarry just north of the San Diego County line and just west of Interstate 15.

"The action identifies this area as a high-potential mining area with aggregate," Assistant City Manager Bob Johnson said. "The land went from having no classification to having a classification. When (Granite) goes through the permitting process with the county ... this information will be used as further justification as to why there should be a quarry there."

As the proposed quarry site is in an unincorporated area, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors will decide if a permit should be issued for mining operations. Temecula is attempting to annex 4,700 acres of wilderness, including the selected quarry site. If it is successful in doing so before the county takes up the question, the city would become the decision-making agency.

Granite Construction submitted a petition to the State Mining and Geology Board late last year to have the area of the proposed quarry classified as land with mineral resources.

"The State Mining and Geology Board does not permit sites; they do not control zoning; they do not approve projects," said Gary Johnson, aggregate resource manager for Granite Construction Co. "What they have done is identify there is a significant geological resource at the site. ... This is a technical issue, not a policy issue."

The state geologist's office subsequently investigated Granite's claims that the parcel near the county line contains aggregate resources that meet the state's threshold value of $16.41 million for classification. The quality of the aggregate was also tested. The state geologist determined the material on the site met the specifications of Portland cement concrete -- the highest quality.

At a market cost of $10 per ton, there needed to be 1.6 million tons of aggregate to meet the state's minimum threshold for classification.

"They have exceeded those thresholds by a very large amount," Testa said.

According to Gary Johnson, there is about 270 million tons of marketable aggregate at the site -- a value of $2.7 billion.

Testa said the classification process is purely objective and scientific -- not based upon ownership or land use.

"The purpose of the classification is mainly to protect the state's mineral resources," Testa said. "You don't want that land being changed to a residential area or some other use that would shut off access to those resources. We want to encourage lead agencies to consider the mineral resources they have when they make land-use decisions."

While no city representatives were at the State Mining and Geology Board meeting, Temecula City Attorney Peter Thorson did send a letter to the agency claiming the board violated the California Environmental Quality Act by not conducting an review prior to the vote as well as opposing the "designation of the Liberty Quarry site as a mineral resource of regional or statewide significance."

"The proposed designation of the quarry site will effectively establish state policy with regard to the possible development of the site and thus will undoubtedly have long-term significant impacts on both the local and regional environment," Thorson wrote. "The failure of the (mining board) to adequately review the environmental consequences of its own action will only add to this controversy and complicate the efforts of the City and County to comply with CEQA."

Testa said Thorson's assertions confused the issue.

"The letter is out of context," Testa said. "It refers to a 'designation,' which is much broader and is a whole different process. The land must be classified first, then it can be designated."

From 1980-2006, 35 classifications have been completed in California. Granite Construction Co.'s petition has been the first since 2005 to be completed. There have been a total of 10 designations since 1982, but one has not been finalized since 1990.

Testa said it is not the responsibility of the board to conduct an environmental review for classifications or designations, as such actions don't fall under CEQA. He said the lead agency of the project -- in this case, Riverside County -- is charged with conducting environmental reviews. Thorson did not return phone calls seeking comment.

According to Gary Johnson, the environmental review of the Liberty Quarry site is scheduled to be completed this fall. Temecula officials have also commissioned their own environmental review of the site, which is expected to be completed no sooner than September, Bob Johnson said.

Since the proposal for Liberty Quarry was unveiled in 2005, it has encountered a groundswell of opposition in Rainbow and Temecula. Opponents claim the quarry would result in more noise, air pollution and highway traffic. Other critics question whether the development of the quarry will threaten the area's wildlife.

The property on which the quarry would sit is slightly north of the San Diego County line and west of I-15 near Rainbow Valley Boulevard. That acreage is adjacent to the eastern border of the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve, which has protected habitat for research and education on Southern California ecosystems.

-- Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.

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