The new ozone standards should not affect this area, the Monterey Valley, maybe. Nitrous oxide emissions would be the problem if this were the case. The sulphur issue and the cost of coal may make Natural gas more cost effective. We'll see.

The demand for concrete/cement is already starting to climb back, and so are prices, as these infrastructure projects are beginning to move. The stimulus projects have been really slow to make it out to design and contract. This is true of many of the transportation, energy, and conservation projects. The road and transit projects are now beginning to actually "turn dirt". So given the previous serious cement and concrete shortages of the mid 2000's this sale to another operator is a real possibility.

There will also be a likely shortage of aggregate as the economy recovers, and more of these infrastructure projects start paving and pouring concrete. So the ranting and raving about the NWP and he aggregagte mine should be revived soon, too. We have near riots about the aggregate mine in Azusa. The rich spoiled job haters in Duarte, that stopped the Gold Line shops from being built in Irwindale (they didn't want the lights from it in their "view" from the hillsides) are going absolutely bonkers nuts about that proposed mine expansion.

I would expect the plant in Santa Cruz to consider Natural Gas, as NG prices relative to coal and oil are falling. Coal has transport and sulphur issues, and it is just plain expensive to haul to this location. NG reserves are actually rising, as known oil reserves, and new discoveries have continued to fall over the last decade. The btu equivalent price spread between oil and gas is likely to increase even more significantly in the coming decade.