PERMFILE72863

• Permit No: M2000077
• IBM Index Class Name: Permit File
• Doc Name: ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT MULE CREEK GRAVEL PIT
• Media Type: D
• Archive: No

' Mule Creek Gravel Environmental Assessment • Page 11
The U.S. Forest Service has reviewed the status of quarry sites located on National Forest
System lands. The only quarry sites cunrently being operated in the Pike National Forest
' are several small sites along the Gold Camp Road in the southeast comer of Teller
County. These sites aze currently permitted exclusively to the county for maintenance of
Gold Camp Road. They are too small and remotely located to be effectively operated for
t meeting gravel needs in other parts of Teller County.
' 2.2 Alternative A: No Action
Under the No Action alternative, the Forest Service would not authorize implementation
of the proposed action and the Special Use Application submitted by PK Enterprises
' would be denied. The existing abandoned quarry located on both private land and
National Forest System Land would remain in its current condition and no action would
be taken to reclaim the site. The need for gravel in Teller County would be met through
' the development of new quarries or the expansion of existing quarries on state or private
lands at other locations. The photo of the current mine is included as Figure 2.1.
'
2.3 Alternative B: The Proposed Action
' PK Enterprises, Inc. has submitted aSpecial-Use Application to the Pike National Forest
proposing to remove gravel from a previously developed quarry located about four miles
south of Divide on the east side of Colorado State Highway 67 in Teller County. The
' existing abandoned quarry site is located partly on lands within the Pike National Forest
and partly on private land and is immediately adjacent to the entrance to Mueller State
' Pazk from Highway 67. The map in Figure 1.1 shows the site location in proximity to
hway 67 and the Forest System Land boundaries
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The existing quarry occupies approximately 5.5 acres of private land and 5 acres of
' National Forest System land. Under the proposed action, the quarry would be expanded
to occupy a total of 6 acres of private land and 25 acres of National Forest System Land.
The mining operation would remove approximately 1 million tons of gravel from the
' federal land and reclaim the site within a period of 10 to I S yeazs. The applicant
estimates that with currently projected gravel demands, primarily for road base, the mine
' production rate would average about 100,000 tons per yeaz.
Under the proposed action, the applicant would develop and reclaim the site in three
' phases: 1)pre-production site prepazation; 2) production; and 3) reclamation. Part of the
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