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 Pit ~ironmental Assessment ~ Page 38
' Methodist Church of Colorado Springs, on the west side of Hwy 67, just north of the
gravel pit; one private (individual) property on the west side of Hwy 67, facing the south
' part of the gravel pit; and one private (individual) property, south of the gravel pit.
3.1.3.3.4 Supply and demand for aggregate
' According to the Colorado Department ofNatural Resources (Division of Minerals and
Geology), there aze currently 14 active permits for gravel and sand mining operations in
' Teller County. Decomposed granite is used mainly for road base and fill dirt. Better or
harder gravel is used for pavement construction.
The cost per ton for gravel is relatively low, but the delivery costs are relatively high, and
may represent~80% of the total cost. Currently, the average cost for gravel is about
$2.50/ton3. Therefore it is important to locate gravel pits as close as possible from the
t locations with high demand for aggregate. -
' 3.1.3.4 Visual Resources
The area around the Mule Creek gravel pit is typical of the area around Divide, Colorado,
' with rolling hills, occasional sharp draws with perennial flows, and a mixture of
coniferous forests and high mountain meadows. The forest is comprised of pine, spruce
and flr with an average height around 25 feet, with occasional stands of quaking aspen in
' the wetter areas. While there are sporadic rock outcroppings, they are neither very large
or particulazly common, as they are in the vicinity of Florissant.
The drainage in the azea where the gravel pit is located has eight main features:
' l) the undisturbed hills, with rounded, convex slopes;
2) the abandoned Midland Terminal Railroad bed, terraced into the toe of the eastem
side of the valley;
' 3) Highway 67, which generally runs at the toe of the hills on the western side;
4) the comparatively flat valley floor between the railroad bed and the highway, with a
' wet meadow in the upper elevations giving away to willows and a small active
channel further downstream;
5) structures visible from the road, including single family homes, ranches with all their
' various buildings, and the John Wesley Church camp;
6) the entrance to Mueller State Pazk in the bottom of a side draw on the westem side of
the valley, consisting of two paved roads, with the entrance and exit separated by
approximately 50 feet of grassy median;
' 7) the Mule Creek gravel pit, located on the eastern side of the valley directly opposite
the entrance to [he state park; and,
8) the access road crossing the drainage.
The access road is approximately l2 feet wide with steep banks. The road was made by
laying a culvert in the drainage and putting approximately five feet of cover over it. On
' 3 Estimate provided by PK Enterpnses
' Hydrosphere Resourcc Consultants, 100'_ Walnut Suite 200, Boulder, CO 80302