2018-12-12_REVISION - M2018016 (7)

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! intense droughts have buffeted the state's $193-million rafting industr .37 Goo le ! maps lists 14 rafting companies up and down Clear Creek, including Downstream Adventures Rafting in Empire. Rafters look to the excitement of the trip, the scenery and pure clear water. Should pollution ruin Clear Creek,the industry would quickly shift to other counties as more major rivers start in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado than in any other state in America. ' Fishing in Clear Creek is a major sport. Any changes in these waters could easily upset the streams ecological balance and ruin the industry. Low water levels in 2018 hurt fishing as well as rafting. This led to diminished livelihoods, for fishing ' guides as well as outfitters. With some water levels at 25 percent of the historical average,wildlife managers instituted voluntary closures to fishing from 2:00 P.M. to midnight on several sections of Clear Creek. 38 ! The proposed DMRM is situated just north of Clear Creek. The West Fork of Clear Creek flows to the immediate north of the property and joins Clear Creek just past ' the proposed DMRM. The literature on risks to water sources from gravel pits is extensive. While the DMRM is not directly on a stream, possible potential damage to Clear Creek waterways is certain if there is seepage from the mining operation. In particular, the following negative impacts can take place: "Extraction of gravel from a stream alters the sediment budget creating the potential for channel instability, increased turbidity, and degradation of habitats.... Wetlands may be altered or lost by erosion, the lowering of the ! water table, relocation of the stream channel, or by moving gravel into wetland areas. In stream gravel mining may be linked to loss of fishery resources and wetlands, increased bank erosion, and damage to ! infrastructure caused by channel degradation. The extent to which this potential is realized depends on the hydrologic character, sediment load, and riparian condition of a stream." 39 ' DMRM addressed the issue of water contamination in some detail in DMRM- September 2018,40 indicating, in part,that: "During mining, runoff that occurs ! within the disturbed area will be routed to the active mining pit. No sediment is allowed to leave site and cloud any downstream waters as all water from the disturbed area will drain to the bermed active pit." They indicate that in terms of ! surface water: "All surface water runoff that reaches the disturbed area will be ' 37 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/rafters-anglers-worry-as-colorados-famed- whitewater-becomes-low-water/2018/08/09/aeb9a36c-967a-11e8-8d5e- c6c5940249 54_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.afc 1 f4a 584c6 38 https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/rafters-anglers-worry-as-colorados-famed- ! whitewater-becomes-low-water/2018/08/09/aeb9a36c-967a-11e8-8d5e- c6c594024954_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.e898e2872819 39 https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/0012/report.pdf ! 40 See Exhibit G. 15 !