Laserfiche WebLink
' Analysis: <br /> ' Introduction: <br /> ' I first visited Empire, Colorado 23 years ago with my husband on our honeymoon. I <br /> immediately fell in love with the community. My husband,Albert Gillespie, first <br /> visited 61 years ago when his uncle Billy Bronson bought a summer home in <br /> Empire. It has been a family gathering place ever since. My husband has been <br /> looking forward to retiring in Empire for the past 40 years. When we purchased a <br /> vacation home thirteen years ago,we were thrilled to become part of this beautiful, <br /> ' healthful,welcoming mountain community. In 2013,we moved from our first house <br /> on Sunny Ave to our current address on North Main Street. <br /> ' I should note that I have a Ph.D. in Economics. The final ten years of my career were <br /> spent evaluating projects for a US development agency,the Millennium Challenge <br /> Corporation. For many years before that, I was Lead Economist at the International <br /> Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank). In both organizations the <br /> interaction of economic and environmental expertise was crucial in assessing the <br /> direct and indirect social costs of proposed projects. <br /> ' The Douglas Mountain Ranch and Preserve (aka Douglas Mountain Ranch Mine - <br /> DMRM) requested a permit for a sand-and-gravel excavation and processing <br /> operation approximately one-half mile southeast of town of Empire. This report, <br /> prepared in conjunction with Friends of Clear Creek, focuses on two of the <br /> ' documents (and annexes) submitted by the operators and their consultants, <br /> referred to as DMRM-July 2018 and DMRM-September 2018.1 <br /> In recent years, constituents of many Colorado communities have been fervently <br /> opposed to the development of gravel pits close to their homes and schools. This has <br /> been the case in many other states as well, and for our neighbors in Canada. Like <br /> ' Empire, communities are not against development but rather against potential <br /> negative impacts and externalities that are a likely result of gravel mines.2 <br /> ' 1 The first document is titled "Douglas Mountain Ranch, March 2018, Revised July 2018, <br /> Clear Creek Planned Development Application and Boundary Line Adjustment" submitted <br /> by Douglas Mountain Ranch and Preserve. The second document is titled Douglas <br /> ' Mountain Ranch Mine,April 2018, Revised September 2018, 112 (C) application to the <br /> Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety"by Empire Aggregates,Inc. There is <br /> no explanation for the different submission organization or differences in initial dates. <br /> 2 For example, Empire residents have been delighted to welcome Downstream Adventures <br /> ' sponsoring whitewater rafting trips on Clear Creek. <br /> 4 <br />