PERMFILE70581 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Response to Second DMG Adequacy Review September 10, 2003 Wildlife Habitat: Montrose, County" (which was prepared with consultation with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the nearest critical wildlife habitat to the proposed Haldorson mine is for deer, sage grouse, and elk and is located approximately 4 miles to the west of the property. Also, please note that we are currently working with Ms. Terry Mathieson of the Division of Wildlife's Montrose County Area Office to confirm the George's historical knowledge of the site. In the interest of expediency, and in the event the Division of Wildlife takes longer than expected to visit the site and offer opinions, the Applicant commits to forwarding the Division of Wildlife's opinion, and any further opinion's that may be necessitated by the DOW's review of the site, to the DMG prior to commencement of operations at the site. If the opinions on wildlife at the site dictate that a change to the mine and/or reclamation plan be made to accommodate potential concerns, the Applicant will submit either a Technical Revision or Amendment to the Division. We hope that this approach is acceptable to the Division, as it was successfully used in the approval of a Regular 112 Permit application for the Heit Sand and Gravel Mine in Weld County, Colorado (File No. M-2003-016). Regarding the "Vegetation Information" section of your letter, the George's have indicated that current vegetation on the property consists of coors barley, pinto beans, alfalfa hay, and corn. The annual production rates for this years crops have been: 110 bushels an acre for coors barley, 2,000 pounds an acre for pinto beans, 6 tons an acre for alfalfa hay, and 190 bushels an acre for corn. Lastly, and on asemi-related note, the backhoe trenching along the northern edge of Phase One and drilling and installation of a groundwater piezometer occurred on the property within the last week, which is the height of the irrigation season. The trench was dug to a depth of 15' and groundwater was not encountered. The piezometer was drilled to a depth of 60' and groundwater was encountered at 55' initially and 53' twenty-four hours later. Deducting 2' of topsoil and overburden (per the drill logs for the Phase One area of mining) and then deducting 3' of material to remain over the groundwater level, the Applicant will have a mineable thickness of 48' of sand and gravel. This equates to roughly 2.6 million dry tons of mineable material. At expected production and sales rates, this equals a 5-10 year supply in Phase One of the mine. I hope that the information supplied herein is sufficient to satisfy the Division's remaining concerns regarding the proposed Haldorson Sand and Gravel Mine. Should you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to call us at 303/274-4277. Thank you. Sincerely, Tug Ma`rti'n Banks and Gesso, LLC Enc: TerraModel Volume Calculations