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<br />The Gladstone Institute, <br />P.O. Drawer I <br />611 Water St. <br />Silver Plume, CO 80476 <br />Te1.303-569-0155 <br />Fax 303-569-0156 <br />DMG Durango Office <br />Atm: Wallace Erickson <br />701 Camino del Rio, Room 125 <br />Durango, CO 81301 <br />o;~~, Fc 2~ ~~ <br />Inc. °~~„F°,~,s <br />°„~ <br />4°w by <br />V4 <br />~ ~~~ <br />~.~ Re~~ <br />4'~%s,~6o f ~nc ~e/d0~~3 <br />s ~ Coo~09Y <br />December 15, 2003 / <br />L <br />Re: Sunnyside Permit M-77-378, Proposed AM -OS <br />We object to the proposed amendment to this MLRD permit on the following grounds: <br />1. 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 the economic development of San Juan County through its tourism and recreational <br />economic base. <br />2. The azea 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 batten hillsides aze not erosion stable in the long term, as they are typically approx. a 1: ] <br />slope (rather than the gentler slope required by MLRD), and may not receive the ongoing <br />maintenance that 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, Inc. are to serve as an educational forum for <br />issues regarding the adaptive re-use of mining ]ands 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 genera] interest groups visit Gladstone as an educational site <br />and open air laboratory regarding these issues. <br />For The Gladstone Institute, Inc. <br />ef~ <br />Todd C. Hennis, Pres. <br />