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<br />Enclosure 2. Responses to Questions from Mr. Lockhart, Pikes Peak <br />Group, Sierra Club <br />In response to questions raised in a letter dated 5 May 2000 from <br />Mr. James E. Lockhart, Pikes Peak Sierra Club Group, I offer the <br />following: <br />a. Regarding the alleged relocation of Red Creek. It is <br />possible that the creek was relocated at some time in the past. <br />Aerial photographs in the possession of Ms. Weiland could be used <br />to estimate when the creek was relocated. However, our citing of <br />the dates of several nationwide permits cannot be used to conclude <br />that the creek has moved or how many times relocations occurred. <br />Rather, we were attempting to provide information to indicate that <br />if the creek was moved, regardless of when, that the work would <br />have been authorized by nationwide permit #26 or its predecessors <br />without notifica~ion. <br />b. Regarding the challenge to a statement in our 25 April <br />2000 letter that "no wetlands occur within Red Creek from the <br />County Road north." We inaccurately assumed that the access road <br />to the quarry entrance gate was a county road. The statement <br />should be revised as follows: "all discharges of dredged or fill <br />material into waters of the US, including wetlands, on the quarry <br />property, were either exempted from Section 404 of the Clean Water <br />Act or were authorized by one or more nationwide permits." <br />" c. Regarding the deposition of sediment downstream of the <br />quarry. The existing sediment deposits on and adjacent to Red <br />Creek likely came from various sources during the several major <br />storm events that recently occurred on the Red Creek drainage. <br />Potential sediment sources in the watershed include streambank <br />erosion, surface erosion, road ditch erosion, the reported breach <br />of the Weiland pond, the reported breach of the stock tank upstream <br />of the quarry, and the reported breach of the Red Canyon Quarry's <br />lowest sediment detention pond. Pursuant to Section 404 Of the <br />Clean Water Act the Corps of Engineers regulates the discharge of <br />dredged or fill material onto waters of the US including wetlands. <br />The terms "fill material" and "discharge of fill material" as <br />defined in 33 CF'R 323.2 do not include downstream sediment <br />deposition. Therefore, regardless of source, the Corps of <br />Engineers does not regulate the deposition of the sediments <br />downstream of the quarry. <br />d. Regarding the adequacy of culverted road crossings. The <br />existing nationwide permits do not have any standard formula for <br />determining adequacy of a road crossing. Specifically, the <br />nationwide permits do not require the road crossing to pass a 10 <br />year, 50 year, or a 100 year storm event. <br />-1- <br />