If the San Joaquin River is to be protected from further harm at the hands of a multinational mining company with a history of environmental violations, help won’t be arriving from the state capitol. A bill authored by Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno) aimed at squelching CEMEX’s controversial blast mine failed to advance from its first committee hearing Monday afternoon in Sacramento. Only one member of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee voted “aye” on AB 1425 compared to 13 “noes” and no votes, killing the bill for this legislative session. That does not mean CEMEX gets the green light to start drilling and blasting 200 feet away from the river 3 miles outside the Fresno city limits. Goodness no. It simply means the process for potential approval will continue as prescribed by the California Environmental Quality Act.
–Written by Fresno Bee opinion columnist Marek Warszawski.

Related articles:

• The San Joaquin Valley Sun (Fresno, Calif.): Assembly Committee rejects Arambula’s bill to block Cemex expansion