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• May 3, 1989 • {;~~~ ,y,14_III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII <br />R,ly ~ - ~sss <br />Mined Land Reclamation Board <br />1313 Sherman St. , Room 215 ~;I~Y ~ 1ygy -?,' <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 I~ <br />Attn: Dan Hernandez C~;'?~;cC :_/!;\~, <br />I am protesting the amendment to the Snyder Quarry in E1 Paso County. <br />I am convinced that this amendment will negatively impact the air <br />quality, public safety, recreational assets, scenic beauty and wildlife <br />habitat of E1 Paso County. <br />The quarry will negatively impact the air quality of the area with increase <br />of dust from blasting, errosion and truck traffic. The trucks themselves <br />will contribute to the air pollution of the area. Diesel soot contributes <br />to many cities being perceived as grimy and is already in evidence in <br />Colorado Springs. <br />The public safety of the area will be negatively impacted with higher <br />risk of flood damage. The Williams Canyon area already has signs posted <br />to "Climb to Safety in case of Flash Flood". The quarry expansion will <br />place more land open to errosion. The proposed reclamation plan is <br />inadequate to prevent high levels of errosion. <br />The public safety of the area will also be negatively impacted with <br />the increased heavy truck traffic. Quarry trucks are a hazzard to normal <br />traffic with their large inertia levels. They increase the existance of <br />potholes in the road ways. They also scatter sand and small rocks on the <br />road and into traveling vehicles. My car windshield has been damaged <br />several times by rocks flying from quarry trucks. Insurance companies <br />and there clients must support this cost of the quarries. <br />In terms of wildlife the South Rampart Range is very special. There <br />is a large herd of big horn sheep that live in the area. It is part of <br />the winter feeding range and migration route for sheep, deer and the <br />few remaining bear in Colorado. The quarry interfere with our Colorado <br />heritage of wildlife. <br />Rereational assets will be negatively impacted by the Snyder Quarry. <br />Tourism is one of the largest industries in E1 Paso County. Williams <br />Canyon is one of the scenic attractions of our area. This mine would <br />destroy part of the Williams Canyon. Tourists and locals hike on the Waldo <br />Canyon trail. The mine will make the Waldo Canyon trail no longer a <br />escape from the harshness of civilzation. Parents who take their children <br />to see something of nature will be faced with a strip mine. <br />I am particularly upset that the proposed reclamation efforts for the <br />quarry are so minimal. This is a highly visible quarry already. This <br />area will not look natural for thousands of years with out landscaping. <br />But 4 inches of topsoil and only 28 lbs. of grass seed per acre is not <br />sufficient to stop errosion let alone soften the scar of this quarry. <br />Cities need to have a voice in how their environment will be used. <br />Strip mines should remain out of the city view, or should be reclaimed <br />to a natural landscape within 2 years of exposure - that is land should <br />be reclaimed as excavated. I live directly beneath one of the largest <br />and ugliest mines in the area -- by Garden of the Gods. This mine was <br />supposedly "reclaimed" -- but it still looks like a big red scar to <br />everyone in the city. There are no trees growing on the site and only <br />a sparse amount of brush. Our altitude and dry climate slow down the <br />growth process considerably. <br />The mining companies state that quarry expansions such as the Snyder <br />Quarry is proposing, is necessary to provide inexpensive building <br />