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<br />Cor~missio~ mulls
<br />ravel- it decision
<br />g p ,
<br />BY JIM MBI~AGA
<br />JOURNAL STAFF WRfIER
<br />Once again, a large crowd
<br />turned out Monday to voice
<br />opposition to a controversial
<br />gravel pit proposed for the
<br />Dolores Valley at a public heaz-
<br />+ng continued from July 17.
<br />No decision was made, and the
<br />;ommissioners agreed to contin-
<br />ie the hearing until Monday,
<br />Sept. 18,. at 3 p.m., at which
<br />point a decision will be made.
<br />"WeYe not taking this lightly,"
<br />said Commissioner Gene Story.
<br />"It's a very emotional and per-
<br />sonal issue."
<br />At issue is'the proposed Line
<br />Camp Gravel Pit, located 9
<br />miles up the Dolores River
<br />Valley along.Highway 145. Four
<br />Gravel Continu
<br />by 6 percent on the two-lane
<br />highway, and state regulations
<br />would not require acceleration
<br />or deceleration lanes. Four
<br />Corners Aggregate estimated
<br />that gravel trucks hauling the
<br />commodity onto the two-lane
<br />state highway would make 30
<br />round-trips per day, or 22,000
<br />additional trips of truck traffic
<br />per yeaz. Whlle this falls within
<br />standazds set by CDOT for
<br />Highway 145, opponents said
<br />the regulations were not
<br />enough and that safety was a
<br />big concern.
<br />"I challenge the statement
<br />that deceleration lanes are not
<br />needed," said Robert Knox,
<br />who lives a mile from the Line
<br />Camp.' "When these big trucks
<br />make a turn, they block the
<br />entire roadway, which is espe-
<br />cially dangerous in the winter.
<br />For tourism we do not want to
<br />become known as 'Gravel
<br />Valley Full of Truck Traffic.'
<br />"We should have a moratori-
<br />um on, gravel tnlnes .m the
<br />Dolores Valley, leading to an
<br />outright ban of them there."
<br />Passing zones on either side
<br />of the proposed entrance create
<br />a ~naior hazard, he~ said, as
<br />State Aggregates is seeking
<br />commission approval for a
<br />high-impact permit to mine
<br />commercial sand and gravel
<br />from a 19-acre parcel on land
<br />leased to the company by
<br />owner Val Truelson. Mine
<br />organizers are hoping to mine
<br />between 130,000 and 150,000
<br />tons of gravel per year from the
<br />site for the next five yeazs.
<br />Because the operation exceeds
<br />threshold standazds for dust,
<br />noise and traffic outlined in the
<br />county's Land Use Code, the
<br />mine needs a variance from the
<br />commission. Monday, 12 people
<br />spoke against the project, many
<br />to applause, while one spoke
<br />favorably of the right of locals to
<br />create business for themselves.
<br />Complaints focused on the
<br />"The effects cannot he mini-
<br />mized when other, gravel pits
<br />are 3 miles away," said Pat
<br />Kantor. 'The state regulations
<br />aze deficient, so it Is up. to
<br />county to protect. us Crom
<br />impacts of heavy ~ industry.
<br />Through , the (Landowners
<br />Initiated Zoning) .code, they
<br />have the mechanism to do 1t:"
<br />Other neighbors agreed, with
<br />Pete Robinson offering a
<br />recording of loud heavy equip-
<br />ment noise taken 200 feet from
<br />the Tam Pit at a decibel level
<br />allowable under state rules.
<br />"Please do notsentence us to
<br />that noise seven days per week.
<br />That is how far we would be
<br />from this," Robinson said.
<br />When asked, Story said that
<br />no environmental-impact•stud-
<br />ies would be required for the
<br />project beyond what state and
<br />federal agencies require:
<br />Barton said that wildlife agen-
<br />cies have indicated it would not
<br />be a problem because the azea
<br />is relatively small and does not
<br />effect the mine would have on
<br />the popular San Juan Skyway,
<br />a scenic ,byway connecting
<br />Dolores, Silverton and
<br />Durango.
<br />"As my wife and 1 recently
<br />drove on the San Juan Skyway;
<br />when we approached Dolores
<br />the beauty was marred by ugly
<br />craters and heaps of gravel dot-
<br />ting the landscape," said Joe
<br />Canter, who lives neaz the pro-
<br />posed pit. "I urge you to decide
<br />in the interests of the majority
<br />and not set a precedent. We
<br />entrust [his pristine (byway) to
<br />you in order to protect it."
<br />Based on Colorado
<br />Department of Transportation
<br />figures, traffic would increase
<br />See GRAVEL on Page 5A
<br />ed from Page lA ~~
<br />use up a lo[ of water. But oth-
<br />ers disagreed, noting that pre-
<br />serving the state's wildlife
<br />should be a priority because it
<br />fuels the lucrative hunting
<br />economy here.
<br />"If you disrupt migratory pat-
<br />terns for deer and elk, they wlll
<br />not return," said Rollie
<br />Cundiff. "When they need to
<br />begin migrating, they cannot
<br />swim up the (reclamation
<br />ponds), they cannot go up the
<br />highway and with all of the res-
<br />idences azound, they caruiot go
<br />there either."
<br />Nathon Barton, an engineer,
<br />hired by Four Stales, told the
<br />commission that the project
<br />Calls within state and federal
<br />requirements for such opera-
<br />tions and that the mitigation
<br />efforts would be sufficient to
<br />deal with iLs impacts.
<br />He explained that after the
<br />mining was complete, the
<br />remaining pits would be filled
<br />with river water and shaped
<br />Into attractive. ponds. Soil
<br />berms would min[mnP. the
<br />view of. the mine from; the road
<br />and -.neighbors, but Barton
<br />arlmltted that tiYev could never
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