2022-07-18_PERMIT FILE - M2022018

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South Hinsdale Response to Objections 12 July 2022 Land/Development regulations are written by the regulatory agencies and reviewed/approved by the legislative bodies as conforming to the intent of the lawmakers. These are therefore fixed by law. Contrary to claims that there was a "rush to push through" this application, the applicants wish to point out that they have requested two extensions to the decision date on the part of DRMS and that the County provided no official response to the application for approximately 2 months after the application was officially submitted. 5.11 Erroneous or Exaggerated Items There are several items which are specifically erroneous or exaggerated in the objections. This may be due to a misunderstanding of the exact location or the scale of operations of the proposal and the affected lands. This includes the following detailed information. Pagosa Springs Drinking Water Piedra River is a source of drinking water for Pagosa Springs area and water flowing past the affectEA, .cea is conveyed to Hatcher Reservoir: Mr. Sandy Connor, Operator for the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District(PAWSD) including the water plant at Hatcher Reservoir has stated that NO water from the Piedra River is used by PAWSD. Therefore there is NO impact on water used in the Pagosa Springs area, any closer than Chimney Rock. He also did not believe that the only other water district in the area (at Ignacio) uses the Piedra River. To the best of our knowledge and belief, there is no public water supply above Navajo Lake which uses Piedra River water for municipal water supply. The water supply for Hatcher Lake, which in turn supplies municipal water to Pagosa Springs and nearby areas, does not come from the South End and the Middle/East Forks of the Piedra. Rather it comes from several watersheds and headwaters to the east and unconnected with the Piedra, including McCabe Creek, Cade Creek, Dutton Creek (and Ditch), Martinez Creek, Devil Creek, and perhaps Gordon and O'Neal Creek. The Piedra River itself flows well to the West of Pagosa Springs, where SH-160 crosses it near Chimney Rock and the river flows on south to Navajo Lake. There are and have been dozens of sand and gravel pits and other sorts of mining on the Piedra and its tributaries which have created no contamination problem. At this time, the ash from the very recent Plumtaw Fire is far more likely to contaminate water flowing into Hatcher Lake than any imagined contamination from either South Hinsdale Gravel Pit or truck traffic on Piedra Road. Of course, the water plants have the capability to purify water from Hatcher Lake (and do) t®.tMeet all current EPA and Colorado Standards for potable%ulinary water(that is, domestic and commercial water use). Again note the operation is designed to prevent water contamination and will reduce erosion, therefore generating less sediment. Road Repair Impossibik Repair of T,Rc� is impossible when damage is caused by trucks (hauling gravel): Trucks hauling logs and livestock regularly use Piedra Road (and other USFS and County Roads), and these roads are constantly maintained and repaired by various public and private entities. Indeed, use of heavy trucks hauling gravel (road base) are essential for building, improving, maintaining and repairing roads, both gravel and paved roads. Permanent and Irreversible Environmental Damage Negative environmental impacts of sand and gravel mining are permanent and irreversible: As demonstrated by several gravel pits operated and reclaimed along Piedra Road itself in both Archuleta and Hinsdale County, and many other reclaimed sand and gravel pits throughout Southwestern Colorado and the entire State, the impacts of mining 5182-22-003 WASTELINE, INC. Page 81 of 107