Oat Pit Mineral Material Competitive Sale
CASE FILE NUMBER: CACA-49293
DOCUMENT NUMBER: DOI-BLM-CA-D070-2011-0063-EA
In August 2007 the El Centro Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offered 850,000 tons of sand and gravel from the Oat Pit for sale by competitive bid under the Materials Act of 1946 (530 USC 601, et seq). Superior Ready Mix was the winning bidder. Case file CACA-49293 was established for this action.
In the August 2007 bid announcement the criteria for the contract was specified:
Parcel 4. A site (Oat pit) contains 850,000 tons of sand described
as 240 acres in the SE ¼ of Section 14 and the NE ¼ of Section 23,
T.14 S., R. 16 E., SBBM. A minimum acceptable bid for sand is $1.25
per ton.
The contract would be for the severance and removal of 850,000 tons of sand and gravel from the subject site for a contract term of 10 years beginning when all required assessments and approvals have been obtained.
Superior Ready Mix’s purpose for this project is to produce mineral materials in Imperial County in order to meet infrastructure and commercial needs for aggregate in the market area. The proposed Oat Pit operation would mine a remaining terrace deposit of sand and gravel, avoiding sensitive areas having known cultural and biological resources. Mining this mineral material would supplement the dwindling supply of aggregate in Imperial County. Based on the most recent document available, the 1986 Conservation Plan, the area available for mineral extraction in Imperial County is largely depleted, leaving the region with a questionable aggregate mining future. Encumbrances for non-mineral uses, on both public and private lands in Imperial County, limit access and availability to adequate construction materials necessary to meet local and regional needs.
The comment period for the Oat Pit Environmental Assessment (EA) begins 7/7/2011 for 30 days with publication of the document. To ensure that all public comments will be considered, the BLM must receive written comments on the EA by close of business of the public review on 8/8/2011. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment, including personal identifying information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
Bureau of Land Management
El Centro Field Office
1661 S. 4th Street
El Centro CA 92243
Phone: (760) 337-4400
Fax: (760) 337-4490
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