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.lalftEStN•B~E1MP1' Dennis R. Lockett /~..°~.4.°~ 5421 Stonemoor Dr. `"'``"^~~~•NN Pueblo,CO 81005 DIS111G1 ~ 215 W.10~ St Pue61o, DO 810001 October 13, 1996 Dear Mr. Brewer. I'm writing in response to a letter I received in the mail on Saturday October 12, 1996. The letterwas s NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING to allow Valco, Inc. to amend Special Use Permit 479 which allows the extraction and processing of natural deposits, in ihis case sand and gravel from the formerly scenic Arkansas river bottom. The request wants amendments which would incorporate approximately 84 additional acres into the permit. This amendment is potentially absolutely the mo:;< environmentally damaging incident in Pueblo County if approved. I live in the Stonemoor Hills area and am daily reminded of the vast destruction Valco, Inc. has done in the area lxtween Highway 96 and the Arkansas River. The state of Colorado has made decisions to exchange land with millions of tons of sand and gravel for totally useless land which Valco has mined and filled with water then 'donated" bads to the state for "fishing". I would urge you to take the short drive to the recently donated 'lakes" and see what the dtizens of Colorado have gotten in retwn for their fonnedy beautiful river bottom. The water is weed and moss filled and almost inaccessible because of the huge mosquito infestation from the standing "lake" water. I was born and raised in Pueblo except for the years I attended the Colorado School of Mines after which I returned to work in Pueblo as an engineer for the past 21 years. I supported the HARP project because I believe that Pueblo, unlike Colorado Springs, has allowed the corporate citizens to abuse the minimal natural resources that we have. Through the 13+ years my family and I have lived in Stonemoor Hills many friends and family members have visited from different areas of the state and country and have been amazed that Pueblo has allowed Valco to entirely destroy a very scenic and highly visible area. And an interesting conversation with a friend who was the Valco office manager who moved to Las Vegas, NV several years ago, was that the local joke amongst the Valco executives Hras how easy they were able to convince Government officials that filling the excavations with water and donating back to the state instead of the usual posting of restoration bonds which require that the sites be returned to their former condition after minerals are removed. We the dtizens of Pueblo County were considered a bunch of "hicks" for buying their proposal. The letter received slated that there would be a public meeting of the Pueblo County Planning Commission on October 22, 1996 which I would definitely attend but my wife Julie and I are leaving for Denver on October 13, 1996 for my wife to begin three weeks of cancer chemotherapy. I understand from the letter that the Pueblo County Planning Commission will recommend to the Board of Pueblo County Commissioners as to approval of the amendment. My family and I would greatly appreciate your NO vote by the county commissioners on approving the amendment of Spedal Use Permit No. 479 which would allow Valco, Inc. to continue the gross destruction of the river valley at an even greater level. Sincerely,y/~ ////~~/~y/~/j ~iy~-a/l .`7~~~~a2~v- r Denntss R. Lockett ~~ ~/ OCT 1 5 1996 Dc' .~•/ "'