Stop CEMEX Sand Mining

Update 7/13/17: Victory! On July 13th, the California Coastal Commission unanimously voted to halt operations of the CEMEX facility in three years, the last coastal sand-mining plant in the United States. Surfrider's Monterey Chapter and Surfrider's National Office advocated for years in support of this outcome. Read about it here.

The Surfrider Foundation Monterey Chapter is working to stop what it believes is un-permitted development under the Coastal Act by the CEMEX sand mining plant in Marina, California. CEMEX is believed to mine approximately 270,000 cubic yards of sand a year (and perhaps more), from the beach. Sand is a precious resource, vital to our coasts, and CEMEX’s operations have been identified to be a primary cause of beach and dune erosion in southern Monterey Bay. CEMEX's operations are believed to be the cause of major erosion at regional public beaches such as the Marina Dunes Preserve, Fort Ord Dunes State Park and Monterey State Beach. The Monterey Chapter is engaged to protect the region’s coastal resources, including its sandy beaches, from CEMEX’s operations and to ensure CEMEX operations are in legal compliance.

How to help

• Encourage California's State Lands Commission to get involved! Email Commissioners Gavin Newsom, Betty Yee and Michael Cohen (B.T.Yee@sco.ca.gov, gavin.newsom@ltg.ca.gov, michael.cohen@dof.ca.gov) and respectfully ask that they take immediate action to pursue enforcement with respect to the CEMEX sand mining operations in Marina, California.
• Join/follow Surfrider's Monterey Chapter.