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~f <br />05/19/98 05:58 FA3 9705274887 <br />•_~rF_IVED <br />'r1f11t ? 2 1999 <br />Merrob 19,1999 <br />..,;rats 8 Geology <br />HIGH COLII.TRY PIEw• III'lllll'll'1'I'll COL <br />999 <br />GEf~i%1=R OFFICE <br />~°UELIC FILE COPY <br />wauyP~ilcgta t"ILE: MI -48-cos <br />Ait+i~oo of tvlinctals and Geology Durango Office Received <br />R84"1`<t[nerDrive a~ITE: De(4u PaV~ny (~arvt( Pet <br />BtlildigtgFi101 7ECEI1lEp ~`1A2 1 ~ ?:,~9 <br />nurango, co 81301 <br />r-ax: t9ao) 2~r7-slog ItiAR 2 2 T999 c~.;-~,.. ,-;,, ~ ,,.,~.. <br />Hard Copy to Follow by 1~151'Matl'~tnerals 8 Geology <br />~ Delta Paving Grovel Pit Parrott Application M-98-105 <br />Dew' Ms, Eriksore <br />This letter ooststitutes the comments of the Western Slope Eavironmcntal <br />Resotrzoe Catmcil (WSERC) regarding the DMG pernut application listed above. <br />WSIItC is a grassroots non-profit conservation organization based in <br />PAOpia, CO, and dedicated W protecting and enbancing the envitvnment <br />and quality of Iife ip belts County and Colorado's Western Slope. WSERC <br />otgasti2ad in 1977 and now has approximately 200 members. lmpects of industrial <br />dsvt on wildlife habitat, wafer quality and the integrity of the Gunnison River are <br />d great Cattcern W our membership. Our members live adjacent to the pr sea grovel <br />ttlitle and asphalt plant, use !hc river for boating, rskiing and wildlife watching and travel <br />ills ptt~poaed haul roads en route to home, school and work. The presence of a gravel pit <br />op®a~ has the potential to impact our rural quality of life in many ways: from noise, dust <br />3rd light polltttioa, [o effects on private property values and the impacts oa public waters. <br />,..~ <br />We ttmogrtizt that only local county government and not DMG hoc the jurisdi+.-titm to tom <br />down gavel pit applications based on impacts other than these associated with rtxlamatitm. <br />An+4. grv® the fact that Delta County currently has no land use codes and there Is a market <br />detmartd for gravel, we ran only assume that the development of this pit and asphalt plant <br />ate iu 311 litelihtrod inevitable. Given that, it is our goal that this operation be wrricd out in <br />s tYay that impacts to people, wildlife and the aquatic and terrestrial habitats are reduced to a <br />'bare ttaarmrun attd that Gland Junction Pipe and Supply commits to mitigation standards <br />'!I>at ate ~b1e to the local community. <br />By fr, the grmtest concern ie protetpvn far the ripprian areas that lie wi[hin the permic <br />ap~drration boundary. As the DOW report notes, thts is an area of cstrcmc importance for <br />wildlife sad is a habitat type that is already limited in this region. Loss of this area would <br />be irrevmtdhle in this ceptury. To this end, we ask that llMG talc the rccommendaGvn of <br />t~hu DG4V in tegttiting as part of the mining plan that the Grand Junction 1'ipc and Supply <br />plat the ptooq~tng plant far away from the riparian areas and construct no permanent <br />pooch wrthin the 50 year flood plain. We also ask that the delineation of federal <br />jtui8dictiottaiwatlands nerd the tecommendatian of the Army Corps regarding the <br />imptxtanre of this type of riparian area be taken seriously by DMG and the applicant. As <br />' - DMG is in the potsiUOn of approving the permit boundary, we ask that you consider <br />#FX}rawiDg the botauiary to permttnently exclude from mining the critical riparian habitat <br />We a18o air that you consider seriously the iscue of developing a mine in an arcs that could <br />pottaxititly nee the yearly release of 10,000 cfs 6y the Bureau of Reclamation. Astable <br />