2016-04-22_PERMIT FILE - M2016010 (8)

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4/21/2016 State.co.us Executive Br anch M ail Opposition to M2016010 Hitch Rack Ranch Quarry https://m ail.google.com /mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=62a0fa4cd9&view=pt&sear ch=inbox&th=154253bbdad4d6f9&siml=154253bbdad4d6f9&siml=1542f44b94be114b 1/2 Eschberger DNR, Amy <am y.eschberger@state.co.us> Opposition to M2016010 Hitch Rack Ranch Quarry 2 mes s ages Troy Day <t roy.day @s tartmail.c om>Sun, Apr 17, 2016 at 11:19 A M To: wally.eric ks on@s tate.co.us , amy.es c hberger@st ate.co.us April 17, 2016 Wally Erick s on (A my Esc hberger) Colorado Div ision of Reclamation, Mining and Safet y 1313 Sherman Ave., Room 215, Denver, CO 80203 wally.eric ks on@st ate.co.us ; amy.es c hberger@st ate.co.us Dear S ir/Ma'am, I writ e t o y ou to s hare my oppos ition to the propos ed Hit c h Rack Ranch Quarry (application M2016010) along the wes t s ide of highway 115, s outh of Colorado S prings. I am firmly agains t this ac tion on t he bas is of negativ e impac ts to wat er quality /supply, as well as negative impac ts to air quality, noise, highway s af ety, and pers onal out of poc k et cos ts . The proposed quarry will c reate new impac ts and f urt her aggravate exis ting impac ts caused by three other nearby ex is ting quarries along the highway 115 corridor. My wife and I bought a home approximat ely 1 mile due east from t he propos ed quarry s ite one year ago in April of 2015 in the Red Roc ks Est ates neighborhood. The propos al s ubmitted f or c onsideration for the Hitc h Rac k Ranch quarry is a broad brush to address law and regulation, but does not addres s t he s pec ific realit ies of day to day life for those who liv e in the v icinity of the ex ist ing three quarries already operating in this area. We need not read t he propos al to imagine the pos s ible impac ts to those that live in this area, rather we need only look at the realities that already ex ist . Ex ist ing quarries hav e been built three times. The cumulativ e impact of those ex is t ing operat ions are already pres ent and s o it is not s urprising that t here is such res ist anc e in our c ommunity to a fourt h quarry. The propos ed quarry will impac t t he wat er s upplies downs tream of t he quarry. Red Roc k Est ates is one community that uses ground wat er to supply ov er 90 lot s wit hin two miles of the proposed quarry sit e in the Dead Man Creek water shed. The wat er wells are at a lower elev ation than t he quarry. There is no way to k now what underground paths carry water to our wells . In addition, the fault ing bet ween t he quarry site and our underground s upply c reate a v ery unpredic table profile of wat er flow. Pos s ible contaminat ion and/or los s of supply due to quarry ac tiv ity would be a dev as tating los s of a bas ic res ource to our homes and it is an unnec es s ary ris k to our c ommunity. Colorado is a dus ty place and my wife suff ers from allergies. We moved f rom the downtown area in Colorado Springs in part to get away from the allergens we enc ountered there. She s uffers burning/it c hy feet, hiv es all ov er her body, and s welling of her fac e due to t hes e allergies . Common sens e t ells me it will not be improv ed with anot her mine c reat ing dus t one mile up wind of our house. Mining c reates spark s. Sparks from blast ing, metal t ouc hing roc k, met al t ouc hing met al, roc k hitt ing roc k , and heav y equipment. The propos ed site is s urrounded by f ores t and s c rub lands . I look to the nex t 50 years and wonder if the right mix of drought, and f uel, and wind, and s park s will s tart a fire that c annot be c ontrolled. We already hav e t his ris k next to our c ommunit y f rom Fort Cars on and we pay t he ins urance premiums related to it, and we s tay fire wis e within our means . I cannot s ay that mining will c aus e a fire in t he nex t 50 y ears, but common s ens e t ells me it will not mitigate the ris k , it will only heighten t he risk . Jus t before s unup, the s ound of engines gunning up the hill at mile mark er 35 begins and it c ontinues throughout the day. Some of those engines are dies el and s ome belong to empty truck s headed south t o t he quarries . The sound of jak e brak es c omes from truck s t hat are headed north down that s ame hill. They don’t go away in the winter like the birds . In fac t, they s eem louder as the leaves f all off the trees. Des pite t he ‘Engine Brak e Mufflers Required’ s ign at the top of the hill, thos e brak es are s till unmuff led and loud. No planning document will