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STATE OF COLORADO DIVISION OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGY Department of Natural Resources 1313 Sherman St., Room 215 Denver, Colorado 80203 Phone: (303) 866-3567 FAX: (303) 832-8706 DIVISION O F MIN&RALS GEOLOGY REG LA NATION NINING•SAFETT Bill Owens March 18, 2002 QOVefAOf Greg E. Walther E:ecugve Directs Mr. Mike Wegrzyn'~ Michael B. Lang P.O. Box 1464 Division Director Alamosa, CO 81101 / / / / / ~/ Re: Complaint Regarding Ronald Barner's Peat Mine, DMG Permit M-1994-081. Dear Mr. Wegrzyn, Thank you for your letter describing possible mining-related damage to pre-historic and historic items at' the site named above. I have the following response, which explains this Division's position in regards to this matter. The mining and reclamation permit for this site was issued in 1994, during a time when our Division's jurisdiction in historic and archeologic matters was being curtailed. Prior to that time, we had some limited ability to require permit applicants to obtain clearance from the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) before disturbing sites. Sometimes obtaining this clearance required that the permit applicant perform a "cultural resource survey" (often at considerable cost to the applicant) or other mitigating activity. The courts found this requirement to be excessively burdensome to the applicant, and our Division's jurisdiction to require this type of survey was eliminated. The elimination of our jurisdiction in this matter is most clear-cut on privately-owned land, which this case involves. Our office was and is still required to send notices to other various governmental offices, including a notice to SHPO, upon receiving new permit applications. In the file documents for this application, there is a response by Mr. Bamer to an inquiry by SHPO. His August 1, 1994, letter to SHPO stated that there had been extensive land-altering activities on this parcel in the past, which would render useless and meaningless any type of archeological survey. A survey was not required and none was performed. As of that date, this was the extent of the documentation which we required of an applicant, to satisfy-our requirements for a permit application on private land. I have attached the referenced correspondence herewith, for your information. The situation described above is still our Division's policy and extent of jurisdiction. While we would support and encourage an operator to perform such a survey before commencing disturbance to a site, and even halt or modify onsite activities if cultural resources were encountered, we do not have the jurisdiction to require it. I suggest that you try contacting one of the following offices: State Historic Preservation Officer, c/o The Colorado History Museum, 1300 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203-2137; or, your local county's historical