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c ~ ~ ~ The Gladstone Institute, Inc. <br />P.O. Drawer I <br />611 Water St. <br />Silver Plume, CO 80476 <br />Tel. 303-569-0155 <br />Fax 303-569-0156 <br />DMG Durango Office <br />Attn: Wallace Erickson <br />701 Camino del Rio, Room 125 <br />Durango, CO 81301 <br />RQ~N a <br />O/Vtst ~uol ~° Fled <br />nCr~~s ~ GQ~ogY <br />December 15, 2003" / ~a~ ~~ <br />`/ o~C 2 '~ `~®~ <br />Re: Sunnyside Permit M-77-378, Proposed AM -OS 'nnolfA~ne~atsan?,6oo10°" <br />We object to the proposed amendment to this MLRD permit tih the following grounds: <br />].The area of Gladstone, CO is entirely unsuitable for an industrial use designation. Industrial <br />zoning does not exist in San Juan County, and any form of industrial designation would adversely <br />impact [he economic development of San Juan County through its tourism and recreational <br />economic base. <br />2. The area needs to have reclamation requirements especially in terms of ground cover of the <br />barren, high exposure hillsides which are composed of mine dumps and highly acidic ground. The <br />area certainly falls under the definition of affected mine lands in the 1976 Mined Land <br />Reclamation Act, and it is certainly under the spirit of the Mined Land Reclamation Act that a site <br />so heavily affected by mining activity should receive reclamation in terms of ground cover, <br />grading and water quality issues. <br />3. The barren hillsides are not erosion stable in the long term, as they are typically approx. a I:l <br />slope (rather than the gentler slope required by MLRD), and may not receive the ongoing <br />maintenance [ha[ the site has received in the past from the operating company. <br />4. We believe that the issues regarding this site are adequately addressed in Amendment 4 of the <br />above referenced permit, and a re-visitation of these issues is not in the interest of the people of <br />San Juan County. <br />5. Two of the activities of The Gladstone institute, [nc. are to serve as an educational forum for <br />issues regarding the adaptive re-use of mining lands in San Juan County, and as a consultancy in <br />reclamation issues. Through an arrangement with the adjoining landowners, we anticipate having <br />a number of historic, scientific and general interest groups visit Gladstone as an educational site <br />and open air laboratory regarding these issues. <br />For The Gladstone Institute, ~In,/c.~ <br />Todd C. Hennis, Pres. <br />