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<br />Kes~.ents seek bet~r regulations
<br />Think for a moment: How
<br />would you like to live in prox-
<br />imity to a gravel operation?
<br />During the spring, summer
<br />and fall, the times of year
<br />when your windows aze wide
<br />open and you're spending
<br />most of your time outside, you
<br />would ~ hear the constant
<br />sound of crushers, the noise oC
<br />the trucks
<br />and the con- GUEST
<br />slant beeping .
<br />when they COLUMN
<br />back u~. Your
<br />house is con-
<br />stantly. dusty
<br />and diCsel
<br />. fumes waffiitil~~
<br />Lighting illus.
<br />urinates the
<br />night sky, obliterating the
<br />stars. What would your prop-
<br />erty be worth if you wanted, or
<br />needed, to sell it7
<br />There will be two gravel
<br />operations within one mile on
<br />Highway 145. The Tam Pits
<br />were recently granted approval
<br />to expand. Although the
<br />Montezuma land use code lim-
<br />its the number of heavy vehi-
<br />cles, county commissioners
<br />allowed the Line Camp more
<br />than twice the specified num-
<br />ber.
<br />We estimate that there will
<br />be one truck every three min-
<br />utes. These trucks slow to a
<br />near stop when making turns
<br />into and out of the pits, block-
<br />ing both lanes of traffic on
<br />145, a 60 mph zone.
<br />All of us along the Dolores
<br />River Corridor will have to
<br />endure [he noise and the
<br />fumes. Even more significant.
<br />what about safe travel for res-
<br />idents, their school children,
<br />tourists and all who musE use
<br />this state road?
<br />Our concerns aze very broad
<br />and extend into the future.
<br />Colorado is a rapidly growing
<br />state and the need for gravel is
<br />T~RAR ~R1~TTnR
<br />explosive. The Dolores River
<br />Valley, a nationally designated
<br />scenic byway, is potentially a
<br />great resource for increasing
<br />excavation.
<br />However, [here are many
<br />other sources to the county,
<br />away from residential and
<br />traveled scenic areas. Many
<br />counties in the state have
<br />developed extraction plans.
<br />Montezuma and Dolores coun-
<br />ties have not. Nor do they have
<br />specific guidelines or laws per-
<br />taining [o gravel extraction.
<br />There aze many state agen-
<br />cies which have some regula-
<br />[g ~]tl;,li ° 'yt~Ypost of
<br />.' ~adegt~
<br />or. urienforced.',~nld~';Foordin,2{
<br />flan nonexistent. Ntos[ effec-
<br />tive regulation has occurred at
<br />the county level in other areas
<br />in Colorado and the nation.
<br />Some counties aze even set-
<br />ting money aside to purchase
<br />land and/or assist ranchers
<br />and farmers in maintaining
<br />rural azeas.
<br />The pits along the 17olores
<br />River aze in the flood plain and
<br />extend down into the water
<br />table. The effects of multiple
<br />pits on water quality and
<br />quantity have not been evalu-
<br />ated or even considered.•
<br />During fiooding, pits aze sub-
<br />ject to capture, radically alter-
<br />ing the course of the river
<br />which can cause massive
<br />properEy erasion downstream.
<br />These matters concern us
<br />all. We are talking about the
<br />water we drink, the water used
<br />for irrigation and livestock.
<br />Flooding danger is. not cur-
<br />rently assessed and ground-
<br />water not regularly monitored.
<br />What is the effect on the
<br />ecology of surrounding azeas?
<br />What are the effects on wildlife
<br />habitats, on the' hunting and
<br />tourist industries, on the
<br />potential tax base. of the coun-
<br />ty?
<br />The Cortez Journal
<br />Gravel pits, whorel
<br />Dear Editor:
<br />John E. Akin has lived here all his life: he is
<br />not a newcomer, in fact, he is third generation.
<br />If the commissioners were asked if a whore-
<br />house or a crack house could be approved, the
<br />owner would not be able to do with his land as
<br />he wanted.
<br />Akin lives next to the era•.~e] nits on one side,
<br />Although the mined land
<br />reclamation boazd may issue a
<br />permit for a limited time and
<br />require reclamation within five
<br />years a gravel company can
<br />apply for two five-year periods
<br />of temporary cessatlon, delay-
<br />ing restoration for 15 or more
<br />years.
<br />Furthermore, the steep-
<br />sided, unvegetated pond recla-
<br />mation we see here violates
<br />Division of Wildlife guidelines .
<br />and certainly does not restore
<br />indigenous riparian habitat or
<br />the aesthetics that warranted
<br />the designation of `scenic sky-
<br />w~~Y ~; t•'r ~.~~df' w''
<br />"~~
<br />would ensure :that _: gravel
<br />would be utilized most conser-
<br />votively, unitizing high-end
<br />gravel just where necessary.
<br />and allocating lower grades
<br />where appropriate. Should we
<br />limit gravel production to the
<br />needs of our county 1n order to
<br />preserve our other assets?
<br />Should we limit the number oC
<br />pits operating simultaneously
<br />in any one areal
<br />Is the state investigating
<br />other materials? Maine recent-
<br />ly imported huge quantities of
<br />recycled tires to use in road
<br />construction. Canada has
<br />been doing it for yeazs: Other
<br />azeas are using plastics.
<br />CFAR has done a lot of
<br />research and will continue.
<br />When prepazed, we will try [o
<br />work with the state; planning
<br />department and county com-
<br />missioners to develop guide-
<br />lines for gravel production
<br />that will give us an adequate
<br />supply, protect our natural
<br />resources and conserve them.
<br />It is our hope that the commu-
<br />nity will support and help us.
<br />The growth of Colorado and
<br />the explosive need for gravel,
<br />demand that intelligent deci-
<br />sions for the future be made
<br />now.
<br />Louses, crack houses
<br />Sunday. That is if we could, but for the last four
<br />years, we hear nothing but crushing, smell
<br />nothing but dust and smoke, and if we try and
<br />go to town, trucks speeding up and down a
<br />small country road, where we have to pull over
<br />and stop while they go by. Yes, one already did
<br />hit, my truck.
<br />1(+,...,~ etafom Ant nroc fn,P mhv rliri fha rnm-
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