Ortega Rock Quarry Inc

A rock quarry cited repeatedly for code violations has operated here without required permits for two years, and now its owners want to triple the size of the mine, which could tear up scores of acres earmarked as future parkland. County inspection records show that since 1990, Ortega Rock Quarry Inc. has run an illegal sand and gravel pit that has intruded into county wilderness, contaminated a stream and lined Lucas Canyon with piles of debris.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors gave unanimous approval Tuesday to a nearly threefold expansion of a controversial quarry mining operation near the Cleveland National Forest, rejecting arguments from environmental groups opposed to the scope of the project. The decision, ending more than a year of debate, allows the Ortega Rock Quarry to tear down a 3,700-foot-long ridge in Lucas Canyon, expand its operation to 96 acres and build a concrete processing plant on the site.

A high-ranking county official has ordered an inspection of a controversial Rancho Mission Viejo rock quarry that is seeking to triple its operations on future county parkland despite a history of permit and code violations. Thomas B. Mathews, planning director for the county's Environmental Management Agency, said he and a special team of investigators will tour the quarry in remote Lucas Canyon on Jan. 15.

Environmentalists opposed to the expansion of a controversial Rancho Mission Viejo rock quarry told the County Planning Commission on Wednesday that a larger operation would have a devastating and perhaps irreversible impact on the region's wilderness area. "The bottom line here is when this project is done as proposed, are we going to be comfortable with what's left?" asked Pete DeSimone of the National Audubon Society in testimony before the panel.

Environmentalists opposed to the expansion of a controversial Rancho Mission Viejo rock quarry told the County Planning Commission on Wednesday that a larger operation would have a devastating and perhaps irreversible impact on the region's wilderness area. "The bottom line here is when this project is done as proposed, are we going to be comfortable with what's left?" asked Pete DeSimone of the National Audubon Society in testimony before the panel.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors gave unanimous approval Tuesday to a nearly threefold expansion of a controversial quarry mining operation near the Cleveland National Forest, rejecting arguments from environmental groups opposed to the scope of the project. The decision, ending more than a year of debate, allows the Ortega Rock Quarry to tear down a 3,700-foot-long ridge in Lucas Canyon, expand its operation to 96 acres and build a concrete processing plant on the site.

The Orange County district attorney's office has opened a review of potential code violations by a Rancho Mission Viejo rock quarry that is seeking to triple its operations on land set aside for a future county park. Deputy Dist. Atty. David S. Kirkpatrick, a member of the consumer environmental protection unit, said Friday that he is reviewing documents forwarded to him by the county's Environmental Management Agency.

A rock quarry in Rancho Santa Margarita has operated without required permits for two years, and local authorities have notified its operators of at least 10 possible violations of county health, water and fire codes. But the Ortega Rock Quarry Inc. now has a plan before the county to triple the size of the mine and potentially tear up acres earmarked as future parkland. How did it come to that? Thomas B.

The Orange County district attorney's office has opened a review of potential code violations by a Rancho Mission Viejo rock quarry that is seeking to triple its operations on land set aside for a future county park. Deputy Dist. Atty. David S. Kirkpatrick, a member of the consumer environmental protection unit, said Friday that he is reviewing documents forwarded to him by the county's Environmental Management Agency.

A high-ranking county official has ordered an inspection of a controversial Rancho Mission Viejo rock quarry that is seeking to triple its operations on future county parkland despite a history of permit and code violations. Thomas B. Mathews, planning director for the county's Environmental Management Agency, said he and a special team of investigators will tour the quarry in remote Lucas Canyon on Jan. 15.

A rock quarry cited repeatedly for code violations has operated here without required permits for two years, and now its owners want to triple the size of the mine, which could tear up scores of acres earmarked as future parkland. County inspection records show that since 1990, Ortega Rock Quarry Inc. has run an illegal sand and gravel pit that has intruded into county wilderness, contaminated a stream and lined Lucas Canyon with piles of debris.