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Alternate Phone Number <br /> Used only to follow up. <br /> Alternate Phone Extension <br /> Connection to Operation <br /> Select all that apply <br /> Land Owner of affected land Structure Owner within 200' of affected land <br /> Mineral Owner Nearby Resident <br /> Adjacent Land Owner Concerned Citizen <br /> Government Agency Other <br /> DESCRIPTION OF COMMENT OR OBJECTION <br /> (Please be as specific as possible) <br /> Comment/Objection Narrative <br /> The organization submitting the mining permit application is Zephyr Minerals.Zephyr is a Canadian public <br /> company based in Nova Scotia.While they do rent some space in Canon City,they have no roots or facilities in <br /> Colorado or anywhere in the USA. Profits from an operation in Canon City will be returned to Canada.They <br /> were formed in 2012 for the sole purpose of exploring minerals in our area. Most of the homes in the area were <br /> built before Zephyr Minerals existed. <br /> Zephyr has worked hard to avoid any environmental impact assessments,and done exploration in the Grape <br /> Creek area which has two protective federal designations,the Grape Creek Area of Critical Environmental <br /> Concern(ACEC), identified in the BLM's 1996 Royal Gorge Field Office Resource Management Plan(RMP), <br /> and the Lower Grape Creek Wilderness Study Area(WSA). Clearly they are avoiding thorough evaluation of <br /> their operations. <br /> The location of the proposed mine is approximately: <br /> •4 miles southwest of downtown Canon City <br /> • 1.5 miles from Carson City Limits <br /> • 1.3 miles from Grape Creek <br /> The mine site at 6,500 feet elevation is 1,000 feet higher elevation than Grape Creek and the Arkansas river. It <br /> is upstream from the water plant intake for Fremont County. Discharge from mining operations has a strong <br /> potential to find its way to the aquifers underground and/or the water flows.The mining operation would use <br /> approximately 65,000,000 gallons of water per year and an unspecified amount of chemicals.With the site just <br /> 1,000 feet above the Grape Creek and Arkansas River area,this creates the potential for pollution of the water <br /> for present and future generations. <br /> The demand on underground aquifers has been estimated in the permit as"insignificant"but there is no <br /> monitoring or measures to be sure that the demand is having an"insignificant"impact.This is unacceptable in <br /> the current environment of droughts and water issues faced by the residents of Colorado.Should this request <br /> be approved they must be held to specific water volume usage along with detailed monitoring to ensure our <br /> community retains the necessary water required by our residents. <br /> There is no Fire Protection plan associated with the current application.This type of operation located in a <br /> juniper forest,semi-arid climate should be required to have a full fire protection plan,approved by forest fire <br /> mitigation experts on an annual basis. <br /> Funding for reclamation,fire mitigation, natural and man-made disasters,such as fire,explosions,air,water and <br /> soil pollution leaks,or power outages are inefficient or non-existent in their plans.Without a requirement for <br /> reserve funds, including an inflation factor,we have not guarantee they will be able to financially cover <br /> expenses for damages or disasters created by their operation. <br /> PLEASE do not approve this mining permit application!The application does not have sufficient assurances <br /> that a long-term damages to our community will not happen or that short term significant problems can be <br /> resolved. <br />