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<br /> <br />~II ~I~~I~~I~~~~~II~ <br />sss <br />~. <br />.~ <br />~ ~ ~ 1977 <br />~;~,~~~ - <br />Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board <br />1313 Sherman Street ,-.; I_: ??~ ';'-"'.t.f i .~ . 'Vi'i <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 C^'..!'`--' - ---- <br />Dear Sirs: <br />The purpose of this letter is to express the Colorado Springs Park and <br />Recreation Advisory Board's concern over the proposed expan:ion of Castle <br />Concrete's Snyder, Lennox and Queen's Canyon quarries. Ple~ise consider <br />this letter also as a petition for a public hearing on Castle's request <br />to be held in Colorado Springs. <br />The Colorado Springs Park and Recreation Department is charcfed with the <br />responsibility of maintaining the natural environment of they Garden of <br />the Gods Park as a registered 13atural Landmark under guidelines established <br />by the Department of the Interior. The Castle Concrete quarries form the <br />immediate mountain backdrop to this famous park, a gross inconsistency to <br />our stated purpose of "preservation of its natural integrity". Approximately <br />2,000,000 visitors a year come to the Garden of the Gods, making it one of <br />Colorado's top tourist attractions. Since Colorado Springs is dependent <br />upon the quality of its environment to attract not only tourists but also <br />corporate and research headquarters, we believe that the expansion of <br />Castle's scars on the mountain would have a substantial future negative <br />impact on the economic base of the region. <br />In addition to our general opposition to the expansion of Castle's quarries <br />in full view of the Garden of the Gods, we have several specific concerns. <br />1) The nuisance factors of fugitive dust, borne directly over the Garden <br />of the Gods by prevailing winds, noise from blasting, and traffic of <br />heavy trucks mixed with tourist vehicles, will be aggravated by <br />expansion of the Queen's Canyon and Snyder quarries. <br />2) In the Queen's Canyon Quarry drainage, we are aware of two filter dams, <br />constructed by Castle Concrete, which pose potential fl~~od and erosion <br />hazards in the Camp Creek drainage basin which flows through the <br />east portion of the Garden of the Gods. According to t.ze Colorado <br />Springs Director of Public works, the drainage structure=s do not meet <br />either City or State requirements for drainage basins o:r dam construct- <br />~COLORMO /ARlflb! <br />MMK MIO aC1MTlOi1 OMr1RT81N11T <br />1400 Glen Avenue, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80905, telephone: 1303) 471-6640 recreati~~n, 471-6630 park <br />