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III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII DEC. 22~~ _ _~~~~~ Coloardo Idine Land Reclamation Board fl.-tom 1313 Sherman Room 215 D E C ;; '7 1989 Denver Colo. 80203 Attn. Mr. Bill Cridc ly;(~~~;,;i;;,_; RECL~8~4ATIG;~v pt..!g.C;;U Dear Sirs: We are writing to you because we have learned that the Eastside Coal Company of Silt, Colorado has applied to you to up their mining permits from roughly 200,000 tons a year to 400,000 tons a year. We don't know how you decide to grant your permission but we feel there are a few things you should take into consideration. In a proposal for the power plant that is to be built in Silt that Eastside Coal Company would be supplying, they have stated for the 200,000 tons of coal to be hauled from the mine to Silt there would be 64 round trips made a day with thier semi-truck loads of coal. They would be using County road 237 from the mine to County road 233. They would then go down 233 road to Miller Lane, down Miller Lane to highway 6. This is all through a rural area with dense population compaired to the rest of rural Garfield County. County road 237 is a steep, narrow, windey road with rock outcorpings on the taest and steep drop-offs on the east. This road continues on from the P7ine entrance and ties into several other county roads. One of our school buses also has to use this road. It is also one of the National Forest access roads for the White River National Forest. In addition their truck route to the power plant follows at least 2 other school bus routes that we know of. Many people live right on these roads. The mine is situated at the top of this road. The entrance to the mind is only about 100 yards from Harvey Gap Reservoir which is a State Park. Many people use this recreation area. In the summer a lot of local kids from as far as Silt ride their bikes on the roads up there to swim, fish or picnic. In addition these roads are used to move livestock from one pasture to another. Cattle are also herded up this road to summer pasture in the National Forest and back down again in the fall. We feel that 64 round trips a day is definatily dangerous and uncalled for already. If that load were doubled it would be a hazardous situation for everyone who uses and lives along these roads. We also feel it would greatley endanger the livestock and our large deer population. We shudder to think of our kids in school buses, on foot, horseback, or bicycle on roads with this much semi.-true]: traffic. Besides 'the endangerment of lives on the roads there is also the property values that would be worth nothing, the dust the tracks will bring, the noise, and God only Y.nows what the vibration will do to the foundations of the houses.