East County Sand Mine

The East County Sand Mine project, located at 12101 Highway 67 in Lakeside, San Diego County, involves a Major Use Permit and Reclamation Plan to extract approximately 674,000 cubic yards of material, consisting of 632,000 cubic yards of sand and 42,000 cubic yards of topsoil. The operation spans a 27.58-acre site, with sand mining concentrated in deep pits over 17.87 acres to a maximum depth of 415 Mean Sea Level. The project utilizes specific cut slopes of 1.5:1 down to the groundwater level and 3:1 to 3.5:1 below the water table. Additionally, approximately 677,000 cubic yards of clean and inert soil, rock, and concrete will be imported for use as on-site fill, channel rip-rap, and for sale. The project is scheduled for execution in six phases over a 15-year period, with reclamation occurring concurrently with the completion of each extraction phase and a final five-year monitoring period for Phase 5 reclamation during Phase 6. Environmental mitigation includes the creation of new Slaughterhouse Creek and San Vicente Creek channels designed for 100-year storm flows, the expansion of the Anderson channel, and the establishment of an open space easement. The project has been approved by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the San Diego Water Board, with the County of San Diego Planning and Development Services serving as the Lead Agency. All operations must adhere to the adopted Mitigation Reporting or Monitoring Plan to ensure no significant environmental effects.