2000-02-04_GENERAL DOCUMENTS - M1979158

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Mr. Kim Headley Department of Planning and Development January 24, 2000 Page 3 (3) "The Special Use proposal incorporates means to incorporate an environment harmonious with that of the surrounding properties." This operation will continue to be monitored by various state agencies including the Division of Minerals and Geology and Mined Land Reclamation Board, the Air Pollution Control Division and the Water Quality Control Division - both of the Department of Health, to insure environmental harmony and compliance. (4) "The Special Use will not adversely affect the public health, safety or welfare." This is a continuation of a long-time operation that has not had adverse affects on the public health, safety or welfare. The pit design provides for minimal visibility from the areas outside. It is a comparatively low-volume operation, so truck traffic does not cause problems. The Staste Legislature recognized the value of minerals reserves by passing the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Act. The original was passed in 1972 as H.B. 1529 and required reclamation permits for all mines existing at that time, as well as those developed in the future. The act was amended in 1976 by H.B. 1065 and is not C.R.S. 34-32-101. (1) legislative declaration reads as follows: "It is declared to be the policy of this state that the extraction of minerals and the reclamation of land affected is further declared to be the policy of this state that both such activities should be and are compatible. It is the intent of the general assembly by the enactment of this article to foster and encourage the development of an economically sound and stable mining and minerals industry and to encourage the orderly development of the state's natural resources, while requiring those persons involved in mining operation to reclaim land affected by such operations so that the affected land may be put to a use beneficial to the people of this state. It is the further intent of the general assembly by the enactment of this article to conserve natural resources, to aid in the protection of wildlife and aquatic resources, to establish the protect health, safety and welfare of the people of this state." Special Publication 5-A "Sand, Gravel and Quarry Aggregate Resources Colorado Front Range Counties" by S. D. Schochow, R. R. Shroba and P. O. Wicklein, prepared by the Colorado Geological Survey in 1972, as required by H. B. 1529, mapped some of the aggregate reserves in Pueblo County as well as other front range counties. The broad classification for most of Pueblo County aggregates is of the Mesozoic Era - 70 to 225 million years old - consisting of continental and marine sedimentary rocks.