2006-06-14_REVISION - M1978314 (4)

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Standard road engineering demonstrates that the roads will need to be paved to withstand the 'increased, heavy truck traffic. In general, transportation and related safety concerns clearly dictate that changes be made to the roads, bridges, highway entrances and ways of egress before a 112 Permit is issued to King Mountain, not after. e. Aesthetic and Recreational Concerns The detrimental effect that an expanded gravel pit will have on the aesthetics of the area sun-ounding the ranch lands is clear. First, the expanded operation of the gravel pit will cause a substantial increase in noise. Likewise, the forecasted increase in truck (and other vehicular) traffic will inevitably result in increased dust, which will reduce visibility and impair the ability to enjoy the area. _ From a recreational perspective, Egeria Park is heavily used for recreational purposes, including horseback riding, hiking, skiing, snowmobiling and hunting. A gravel pit expansion of the nature proposed by King Mountain will inevitably and adversely affect the aesthetics and recreational use of the ranch lands, and Topanas generally. Agricultural land values aze very limited. Property values are 3 to 10 times as high as agriculture alone would support -these recreation enhanced land values are lost with increased gravel trucks. f. Water Issues King,Mountain'does not own industrial water rights necessary for non-irrigation purposes (i.e., operation of an expanded gravel pit under a 112 Permit or to mitigate the impacts of the proposed expansion).~_In particular, King Mountain currently uses a pump and 4-inch pipe to fill water trucks (1500-2000 gallons each) several times a day near the confluence of Egeria and Smith Creeks~for dust suppression. In addition, we believe that King Mountain owns the Morse Ditch water right, decreed for 1 cfs for irrigation uses, with an adjudication date of November 20, 1890 and an appropriation date of July 18, 1889. Id. If there is a calf on Egeria Creek, the undecreed use would be required to cease as such use would mean that King Mountain is using the water right for industrial purposes for which it is not decreed. In short, any water right that King Mountain may own cannot be used for its proposed expanded grave] operations until and unless it is changed by the Water Court. And even if the Water Court'approves a change in place and type of use, and a change in the point of diversion, Colorado law does not permit a change in the time of use. Accordingly, King Mountain's water rights, in any form, will never be available for use outside the historical irrigation season. - King Mountain's Prior Performance Should Be Considered. Even though on a small scale, King Mountain's prior performance as a gravel pit operator in_ Routt County indicates that it is not a reliable operator. For instance, King Mountain was using a "temporary pit entrance" as a long-term entrance to the gravel pit, which is in an even more dangerous location than the former entrance. Further, in the summer of 2005, King Mountain's employees were