2016-07-08_PERMIT FILE - M2016010 (5)

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r%;711fr: 2 July 2016 JUL 0 8 2016 DIVISION OF RECLAMATION Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety MININGAND SAFETY 1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 Denver, CO 80203 Ms. Amy Eschberger: Subject: Letter of Objection related to Mining Permit M2016010 � As a homeowner within the Eagles Nest subdivision, I am writing yet another letter of objection to the proposed quarry. With information gathered over the past few months, I am more concerned than ever that quarry operations will block or damage our ingress/egress easement road: • We have been told by Transit Mix that our road WILL BE CLOSED during blasting operations, once regular quarry operations commence. • If Transit Mix uses blasting to build the new quarry road, we believe that our road WILL BE CLOSED, at times, because at least portions of that new road are in very close proximity to our existing road. • We believe that our road MAY BE BLOCKED or DAMAGED by fly rock from blasting. • We believe that our road MAY BE BLOCKED or DAMAGED by landslides within the quarry pits • We believe that our road MAY BE BLOCKED or DAMAGED by rockslides caused by vibrations from blasting or heavy vehicle traffic within the quarry pits and along the quarry haul roads. • We believe that our road MAY BE BLOCKED or DAMAGED by more frequent and severe flooding caused by the permanent change in vegetation cover within the quarry area. In 1968, the El Paso County District Court declared that Little Turkey Creek Road is a private road to provide the only means of ingress and egress to the properties within the Eagles Nest subdivision, including our property. That court decree was included with the 18 April letter of objection from Carrie Bernstein. Our property deed specifically includes the private road easement and demonstrates that the private road easement runs with the land. Our property can ONLY be accessed by way of Little Turkey Creek Road, which runs from Highway 115 right through the middle of the proposed quarry operations area. The 30 June meeting included an extensive discussion about what property owners would have to do to get compensated for damage to property caused by quarry operations. The discussion focused on damage to wells, but 1 am assuming that a similar process would be involved for other man-made structures, including our road and culverts. Those discussions confirmed that we, as one of the owners of the easement, will bear the increased risk associated with future blockage and damage to our easement road as well as the increased financial burden of proving that quarry operations did, indeed, cause the problem. I was also deeply dismayed as we discussed the enforcement process at the 30 June meeting, particularly the amount of time it takes to investigate whether the operator caused the damage and for the mining board to determine what actions, if any, the operator will be required to take to rectify the problem. We were told at the meeting that the enforcement process may take weeks or even months. In reviewing enforcement actions for other permits related to water damage, I saw at least one permit where the enforcement and subsequent process to remedy the problem took YEARS. We may be forced to leave our road in an unrepaired, or even a blocked, condition for at least some period of time so that the investigators could see what damage had occurred. Furthermore, it was unclear what obligation the