CJK contends that there is really no wildlife in the area. Being one of those neighbors, I know differently; I see
<br /> squirrels, rabbits,jackrabbits,lots of birds,and foxes,that do make their homes nearby.There are also elk,
<br /> deer,and coyotes that pass through,often spending a little time,and an occasional mountain lion has been
<br /> seen and their tracks observed.One of the reasons we love living in the woods is the wildlife.CJK will use"bird
<br /> balls"to keep birds away from the outside and open containers of cyanide. (see. Pg.2,8.2.2 of Rule 6.4.4).
<br /> Nearby neighbors want the birds, hummingbirds, bats,and encourage them with flowers and plants to bring
<br /> them around. It would seem we are going to bring them to a potential death.
<br /> CJK indicates in their latest application that they will report any dead animals—not sure to whom. It makes me
<br /> wonder why they think they will find dead animals on their roads or property since they indicate there is not
<br /> much wildlife in the area. If one of those dead animals was a neighbor's pet,would they notify the neighbor?
<br /> Accidents happen. No matter how many plans you have, no matter how good those plans are,no matter how
<br /> much training you do,accidents happen.CJK believes that the risk to nearby residents,their water supply,the
<br /> Arkansas river, neighbors downstream of the mill,the neighbors on the East side of Leadville,are not as
<br /> important as the gold they hope to extract and take with them when they leave Leadville.
<br /> While I and the other members of CC41-C support mining as an industry,we do not believe that this facility,
<br /> located upstream of wells and the Arkansas River is safe.This operation will impact:
<br /> •nearby homes—changing our neighborhood from in the woods to next door to an industrial site
<br /> •downstream wells, including nearby residences and beyond, including the mobile home park south of the mill
<br /> •Leadville Sanitation finishing pond
<br /> •Residences impacted by a number of trucks hauling mine waste materials from the Penn Mine site though
<br /> neighborhoods and south on Hwy 24.
<br /> •Tourist and recreational users will be impacted by this traffic
<br /> WATER:While the quantity of water CJK estimates they will use daily changes, it is still,at a min.of 20,000
<br /> gallons per day. Parkville is willing to sell water to CJK, but as the West faces the potential of water shortages,
<br /> is this truly the best use of our water?
<br /> TRUSTWORTHY PARTNERS:CJK has not proved particularly trustworthy in the past,so our trust of them into
<br /> the future is not strong. CJK moved waste piles from in front of the mill building to the back of the mill several
<br /> years ago(so much closer to our residence)and during that moving process of several months,the moved pile
<br /> was not covered. It was a windy time of year and materials were blown about.Yet CJK did not comply with the
<br /> rule that this pile should be covered at all times.
<br /> This past winter the covering on this same pile became torn in several areas.Over a 2-month period of time I
<br /> observed these tears becoming larger,yet no one at CJK noticed. Finally I sent pictures and a letter to DRMS.
<br /> DRMS then contacted CJK,and was pleased with their quick response. . . I am not pleased as they had not
<br /> paid any attention.Will they pay attention to other important aspects if this permit is approved?We think not.
<br /> qk's earlier application identified our home as being in the 200 ft. range of their facility and sent us a letter
<br /> telling us that there could be damage and they would pay for it.There was no explanation of"damage"and no
<br /> explanation of"compensation".The current application indicates they have created a barrier and no longer
<br /> need to identify our residence as within 200 ft.of their property.The"barrier"appears to be that they have
<br /> moved the storage facility for their dry stack waste.While we don't know how such distances should be
<br /> measured,what the potential for damage is, nothing else has changed.The property is still in the same place,
<br /> the buildings are still in the same place,our home is still in the same place.They have just identified a different
<br /> and more distant location for the dry stack material.
<br /> The EPA does support remediation of mine waste piles,but they have not endorsed the CJK plan.The EPA
<br /> also seems to be moving towards putting distance conditions around such industrial sites.There seems to be a
<br /> movement around respecting residential properties,water used by those residences and communities,and
<br /> other impacts from industrial sites located near homes,communities,water sources,utilities,etc.See
<br /> While I and the other members of CC41-C support mining as an industry,we do not believe that this facility,
<br /> located near
<br /> •East side residences
<br /> •Leadville Sanitation
<br /> •Strinatown.
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