2017-12-12_PERMIT FILE - M2017049 ‎(146)‎

• Permit No: M2017049
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Date: 12/12/2017
• Doc Name: Objection
• From: Sean Harper
• To: DRMS
• Permit Index Doc Type: Objection Received
• Email Name: AME
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

December 6, 2017 RECE1VEFE)
Ms.Amy Eschberger
Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety DEC 12 2017
1313 Sherman Street, Room 215
Denver, CO 80203 DMSION OF Rz"%4MAPION
MINING AND SAFjETy
RE: LETTER OF OBJECTION—Transit Mix 112c Reclamation Permit Application No. M2017-049
Ms. Eschberger,
I am disappointed to hear that your office is even considering Transit Mix's mining application, Permit
No. M2017-049,to open a quarry on the historical Hitch Rack Ranch property. As someone who is an
avid hiker and likes to spend a lot of my time outdoors the invasiveness of the quarry into parts of Hitch
Ranch,Aiken Canyon Preserve, Beaver Creek Wilderness study area, and Ingersoll Ranch goes against
one of the values that I believe to be core to the state of Colorado: conservation.One of the main
attractors to tourists and employers looking to move their businesses to Colorado is the vast amount of
parks and outdoor activities that can be found here. Erosion of publically used land erodes what makes
this state a unique place to live.
There is no shortage of gravel now or in the foreseeable future in Colorado Springs.There are three
functional quarries within 8 miles of the proposed Hitch Rack Ranch quarry with massive rock reserves
(over a billion tons in fact) as well as the capability of expansion.The quarry proposition is feigning
demand where there is none motivated by greed in an attempt to squeeze out the middle man at the
expense of residents and the parks surrounding.
All of the residents along The Highway 115 corridor rely on wells for their water supplies. Evidence
suggests that drilling or blasting near the wells could destroy the supply of water forever, leaving these
residents without running water.The wells belong to a "fractured water system"that if compromised,
could damage the "fractures"and permanently disrupt the flow of water to the wells that supply nearby
residents.
And lastly, Highway 115 is already littered with gravel from quarries with carless truck drivers who are
too lazy to cover their loads. My windshield has been cracked twice in one month due to all the gravel
haphazardly being transported from these quarries. Not only that,the loose gravel is a hazard in and of
itself as traction can be extremely bad along 115 running to the South end of Colorado Springs because
of all the loose gravel littered along the roadway.The last thing that area needs is more gravel and
trucks hauling gravel on the road, especially when there are already multiple functioning quarries in the
area and no emand for more rock.
Sincerely,
Sean M Harper
3 E Ramona Avenue
Colorado Springs, CO 80905
[phone]
[e-mail]