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III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 999 P~ t`~ ~~ .. e~is~~on By COSETTE HENRTTZE C-N Editor The Las Animaz County Planning Commission tabled a pemti[ request Wednesday night for astrip-mining operation 3 miles north of Fisher's Peak. Rimrock Coal Company is seek- ing acounty special use permit to surface strip mine 14 acres in the on minim ~ p~icm~i~ meeting and squared off again against Davis. "1 want to know how many acres you plan to strip miner" Montoya asked, citing a letter in which he said Davis staled he wanted to plan for three mines in the azea. Davis responded [hat the pemti[ he is seeking ~s for 13.81 aces, and for one strip-mine. He explained that the operation will recover the out- croppings of the old Engleville Mine, skimming a narrow strip of coal near the surface which was not mined by CF&I because it was not of .high enough metallurgical value for the company's uses. Davis has already applied through the state of Colorado for a pemtit for the operation, and was recently given temporary approval. He must now obtain a permit locally from the Izs Mimes County Commission. Among the people a[ Wednes- day's meeting were a number of lan- downers who live in close proximity to Davis' planned mining operation. Mthony Martinet said he is con- cerned about dte adverse effects on the land. "What about the dust and traffic which will be created by your I vicinity of the old Engleville coal mine. Wednesday's meeting was moved into District Court [o accommodate [he large number of area citizens who acme to listen to the discussion of the pemtit Iequest and to voice their gpinions on the proposal. The majority of those opinions were negative. Many people in atten- dance made it c}ear they oppose any type of strip-mining operation in the Trinidad region. "We want to send a message to the county commissioners," one man said. "f[ would be political suicide for them to grant [his permit - to allow for the defacing of Fisher's Peak. It's a sacrilege." The area of the proposed mining operation is not actually on Fisher's ~. peak, but some throe miles north, near the site~of the old Engleville coal mine, which was operated by Ck'8t[ from the late 1800s through . I935. William Davis, owner of Rimrock Coal Company, has applied fora per- mit to surface strip mine 13.81 acres in the area. Plans for the project, along with copies of the documents submitted to the Colorado Division of Mine/Land Reclamation, were filed in the Las Animas CDUnptPlttnnirag Of6ce.las[ autumn. The Chrogie(t-News first reported on the proposed project in a September 14, 1989 article which outlined Davis' plans and pointed to concerns expressed by Trinidad-area resident Gerald Montoya, who has spearheaded the opposition move- metu against the planned thine. =' -h(®le a atttarled Wednesday's I U.S hen tern the ord citi wa to ba to vucks moving the coal out -you will be infringing on my rights as a property owner" Martinet questioned Davis' state- ment that [he mining operation and required land reclamation will t1x closely morilttaed by state. "The only times they come in to chegk oa dust levels is if't(ley ate spectEiCalfy re- quested~.jq,.do sb: They wouldn't come down on a regular basis." Davis said lte wit! lie required to• post a 553,000 bond toward reclama- tion of the, land. He explained that new regulatiotls requjre a;strip-mine operatoI [o not ort}y reclaim damagest he causeg,butolean up anything elsei in the pertni[ area. "That means I will: actually be cleaning up the old tail-~ ings left behind by CF&I operations at Engleville." • Others at the meeting voiced con- cern about possible detrimental ef- fects to the area water supply and scarrhtg of land so close•w the area's landmark Fisher's Peak. Despite Davis' assurances that hfs operation will not extend to the peak, and that because the training Si Conllaucd at Pe¢ri 8~:;4F Q ~