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<br />APRIL 20, 1990 <br />To whom it may concern, <br /> <br />We would like to address our concerns about the mine activity in Alma\Placier. ost obviously <br />would be the noise. A 16 hour day, 7 days a week mining operation would destroy any thought of <br />outdoor enjoyment for the residents of Alma. <br />Another type of pollution would be dust. As we saw last summer, the prevaling w nds can easily <br />transport large amounts of mine dust down the valley. With recent EPA and Ame can Cancer <br />Society studies and warnings, we should all be fully aware of possible health haz rds from <br />breathing excessive amounts of dust particles, especially those carcinogens relea ed by the <br />crushing of rock. Yes, we realize the winds will send most of the dust down the fiver valley <br />away from Alma. But, this is no reason to forget about it. For that is the attitude eld by the <br />heavily industrilized areas of the midwest that let the polluted air blow east away from home. <br />"Out of sight, out of mind", until it falls, landing as acid rain, changing the PH val a in lakes and <br />streams, destroying their value for the people who live by them. Killing off the sh and plant <br />life in the lakes making them, if not biologically dead at least recreationally usele s. <br />Along these same lines, I hope we all realize the importance of wetlands, and then ed to protect <br />such. If not, study up on the Two Forks project, and the EPA decision on it. Or, etter yet, call <br />The Army Corps of Engineers and say you want to build something as harmless as dirt road <br />over a wetland area. The special wetland study needed, and the environmental im ct studies <br />take years. And this is just fora dirt road, not a strip mine. <br />Okay, so they're going to stay on the other side of the river. But what about the w ter table? <br />That unseen water slowly meandering under and along with the river. This is the ater that the <br />earth uses to replenish and clean itself. The starling zone of the food chain of whi h we live off <br />of. An environment so fragile, that a small fuel leak of even one gallon can destro the life <br />giving process in wetlands area of thousands of gallons in size. We all know how a sy it is to <br />spill a little gas or oil at our home, just filling a chain saw. We can only imagine he potential <br />this mine will have for a spill or leak of fuel into the water way, let alone the pote tial damage <br />of what the chemicals used to process the ore would do. Yes, but it will flow down stream, <br />right? Down the river to one of the best tourist attractions around. The ever po ular fishing <br />area between Alma and Fairplay. You all know where I mean. We see the camper all summer <br />long. These people come and camp but more important, they come and spend. Lea ing us with <br />money. Money that has little negative impact on our environment and at the same ime, increase <br />our property values. Leaving us with an area that is enjoyable to vacation in and attractive to <br />buy or build a second home in. This is in direct contrast with the mine, of which I spoke with <br />many last summer as I delivered propane to them. Not all, but many live in the tr filers at the <br />mine or one of the parks around. They didn't own property here and often they wo Id leave in a <br />few months to work another mine, with South Park being one in a long list of place they <br />worked. I ask you which people would you rather have come here, a dozen miners working here, <br />or hundreds of tourists willing to spend money and even buy or build their vacatio homes here. <br />I feel that this is not a question of a mine going in across the river, but a question f looking to <br />Alma's future. We are at a cross road. We can choose the road to a boom and bust a onomv that <br />