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<br /> <br />Bear Creek Quarry (M-1977-344) Permit Amendment <br />Holcim US Inc, 3500 Highway 120, Florence, CO 81226 <br />Phone (719) 288-1443 www.holcim.us 41 <br />2.4 Exhibit D: Mining Plan (Rule 6.4.4) <br />A limestone quarry and four (4) generations of cement plants have been operating east of Florence, CO <br />since the late 1890’s. The current plant facility (Plant No. 4) increased production in 2001. About <br />3,200,000 tons of limestone are required per year to supply the current plant. Sandstone is supplied from <br />a smaller quarry established into the floor of the limestone quarry and is extracted at an annual rate of <br />approximately 120,000 tons. Other raw materials are purchased. <br />2.4.1 Surface Description <br />2.4.1.1 Location <br />The mineral resource of RCQ is located on six (6) land sections. Two sections are in Fremont County <br />along with the MTAC. Four sections are in Pueblo County along with the Hwy 96 Access. RCQ is 6.35 <br />miles southeast of the Holcim plant. The proposed permit boundary and affected area boundary are the <br />same, encompassing an additional 4078.72 acres. <br />RCQ is located on Holcim property in Section 24 and 25, T.20.S and R.68.W in Fremont County and <br />Sections 19, 20, 29, and 30 in T.20.S and R.67.W in Pueblo County of the USGS Hobson Quadrangle, <br />Colorado (Figure 2.1-1). The quarry property consists of 6 USGS Sections totaling 3,851.05 Acres. A 250- <br />foot-wide access corridor connects the quarry property to the Portland plant site that includes 222.23 <br />acres. <br />2.4.1.2 Topography and Elevation <br />RCQ lies within vast ranch lands that stretch from the Wet Mountains east to the Pueblo Reservoir. The <br />mine area is south of the Arkansas River, along and south of Red Creek with its tributaries, and north of <br />Highway 96 (Section 2.2: Exhibit B). The area is characterized by high desert with moderate semi-arid <br />climate. Elevations range from about 5,116 to 5,310 feet above sea level. <br />2.4.1.3 Land Use and Existing Conditions <br />RCQ includes RP1 in Section 24 that was permitted for dimensional stone extraction. Much of the section <br />is undisturbed native grasses that are used for cattle ranching. Less than 10 acres of Section 24 is <br />disturbed with small piles of dimensional stone and a working face with a staging area. RP1 has no <br />existing structures. <br />Existing conditions and structures for RCQ are minimal. Access relies on interior ranch roads both north to <br />the plant and south to Hwy 96. The Minnequa Canal is located along the northeast corner, outside the <br />proposed permit boundary. Existing structures include barbed wire fences, electricity distribution lines and <br />cattle watering conveyance systems that deliver water to cattle troughs. <br />Fremont County zoning in the area is Agricultural Forestry (Figure 2.4.1.3 -1). This zone district is <br />described in the Fremont County Zoning Resolution as a “Non-urban area established primarily for the <br />purpose of efficiently using land to conserve forest resources, protect the natural environment and <br />preserve uninhabited areas and to allow for farming and ranching activities .” Mining is permitted as a <br />Conditional Use in Section 4.1 pg. 4-4.1.8 (Fremont County, Department of Planning and Zoning 2020). <br />Pueblo County zoning in the area is A-1 Agricultural (Figure 2.4.1.3-2). This zone district is described in <br />the Pueblo County Zoning Resolution as an area “designed to retain and promote the appropriate use of <br />dry range and irrigated lands and encourage open use of the land in keeping with its natural <br />characteristics and agricultural functions.” Mineral and natural resource extraction is permitted as a Use by <br />Review in Section 17.12.030 (Pueblo County, CO 2019). <br /> <br />