2016-04-18_PERMIT FILE - M2016010 (7)

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Warren H. Dean 3131 Little Turkey Creek Road Colorado Springs, CO 80926 RECEIVED 719-440-1722 warren@rosenbaumdean.com APR 18 2016 DIVISION OF REU r'AT10,j April 13, 2016 MINING AND SA=Ew Ms. Amy Eschberger Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, CO 80203 Hitch Rack Ranch Quarry Permit Application Number M-2016-010 Dear Ms. Eschberger, We have lived adjacent to the proposed Hitch Rack Quarry for 24 years and in late February, we received notice of Transit Mix Concrete Company's (TM) quarry permit application. Since then we have reviewed TM's permit Application, attended several open meetings with TM, individuals and homeowner associations and we have discussed the application with local environmental and technical consultants. As a result of this initial work, we are confident of our ability to clearly demonstrate how TM's quarry proposal does not conform to the requirements necessary for the Division to issue a permit. We are eager to vigorously challenge a variety of claims made by TM in its permit application to show that TM does not meet the criteria for a permit to be issued. We approach the opposition to this permit recognizing that Section 34-32.5-102 of The Colorado Land Reclamation Act for the Extraction of Construction Materials states that: .....the extraction of construction materials and the reclamation of land affected by such extraction are both necessary and proper activities. But the Act also clearly states the intent of the General Assembly to: .... conserve natural resources, to aid in the protection of wildlife and aquatic resources, to establish agricultural, recreational, residential, and industrial sites, and to protect and promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the people of this state. Nature of the Immediate Neighborhood—The proposed Hitch Rack Quarry sits in the middle of several well established residential areas, which are close to the quarry and will be directly and negatively impacted by it as detailed below. They are: • Little Turkey Creek Neighborhood has eight residences many of which are less than 1,900 feet or 3/8ths of a mile east (downwind) of the excavation. • Red Rock Valley has 83 residences, just north of Little Turkey Creek Road.