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July 21, 2020 <br /> Last week,on July 15th,a helper and I spent four hours spraying weeds in the quarry area, <br /> mostly on the northern end of the field that lies partly in and partly out of the permit area. Prior to that, <br /> on the 71, he and I spent two hours spraying similar weeds that were addressed in the noxious weed <br /> report issued by Mesa County. (See attached letter from Montana re:noxious weeds identification.) <br /> Regarding the calcium chloride spill: this"spill" is simply a leak of the liquid that is used in heavy <br /> equipment tires. Upon repairing the tire,I needed only to add 7 gallons back into the tire,so that, at <br /> most 7 gallons of this liquid was wasted. It is not a hazardous material,as one uninformed observer <br /> suggests,but is frequently used for dust control and to melt ice on public roads—for safety. <br /> Approximately every other year,and this year was one such year,scaling is necessary to <br /> maintain safety on the haul road at the north end of the permit area. Another heavy equipment <br /> operator and I spent seven working days making it safe,and ensuring continued usability. Thirty loads <br /> of pit run were spread to regrade the foundation of the road. (A substantial hump in the road <br /> threatened to"high-center"many travelers.) Sixteen loads of road base(half 1.5" and half.75")were <br /> spread over the top to smooth the rough spots and limit potholes and"washerboards". <br /> No material was pushed over the side of the berm that prevents vehicles from going over the <br /> edge of the hillside. It was all used to raise the grade of the existing roadway,or In the scaling of <br /> impending rockfalls. Large boulders that had fallen or were likely to fail,that were within 30 or so feet <br /> of the uphill edge of the road were brought down,intentionally,and stockpiled at the top of the hill. <br /> There still exist"seeps"of water emerging from the rock formations near the top of the hill. No <br /> irrigation is in the area. In fact,the Ute Water(municipal) line is the only water in the immediate area. <br /> It is expected that,since this water seep has been there historically,it will continue to seep from the <br /> hillside in a similar manner. <br /> Sincerely, <br /> Rudolph Fontanari <br />