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BEFORE THE MINED LAND RECLAMATION BOARD <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br />FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, AND ORDER <br />IN THE MATTER OF A POSSIBLE VIOLATION BY PURGATOIRE VALLEY <br />CONSTRUCTION, INC., CORRECTIVE ACTIONS, AND CIVIL PENALTIES FOR <br />FAILURE TO OBTAIN A PERMIT BEFORE ENGAGING IN A NEW MINING <br />OPERATION, File No. M-2018-025 <br />THIS MATTER came before the Mined Land Reclamation Board ("Board") on <br />August 22, 2018 in Denver, Colorado to consider possible violations by Pugatoire <br />Valley Construction, Inc. ("Operator"), cease and desist order, corrective action, and <br />civil penalties for failing to obtain a reclamation permit before engaging in a new <br />mining operation, File No. M-2018-025. Elliott Russell, and Russ Means appeared on <br />behalf of the Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety ("Division"). Dean and <br />Glenn Moltrer appeared on behalf of the Operator. <br />The Board, having considered the parties' presentations, testimony, and the <br />administrative record, and being otherwise fully informed of the facts in the matter, <br />enters the following: <br />FINDINGS OF FACT <br />1. The Operator is a construction company with a building site in Las <br />Animas County, near Segundo and Valdez, Colorado, <br />2. On May 18, 2018, the Division received an anonymous complaint <br />regarding an unpermitted mining operation that had moved sand and gravel from <br />private land to a construction project at a school near the site. <br />3. On May 31, 2018, the Division inspected the site. The inspection <br />report, signed on June 15, 2018, described a disturbance of approximately .64 acres. <br />According to the Operator, the disturbance was the result of an expansion of a <br />construction pad. Approximately 1,000 cubic yards had been hauled from the site to <br />be used in a construction project at the nearby Primero Junior -Senior High School. <br />4. On June 15, 2018, the Division sent Operator a Reason to Believe a <br />Violation Exists Letter and Notice of Board Hearing ("RTB Letter"), The RTB letter <br />informed the Operator that the issue of whether or not it had engaged in a new <br />mining operation without first obtaining a reclamation permit had been set for a <br />hearing at the Board's July 25, 2018 meeting. <br />