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• -36- • <br />lJard <br />Pring: <br />George, let me, I have the impression that the legislature, in <br />effect, failed to address the problem that we really have with <br />large number of small operators, is it your assessment that, that <br />they wrote 120 with the full understanding that there was going <br />to be a batch of these that would have to be dealt with in the <br />fashion such as you're saying, or did they in effect not really <br />speak to the problem that we have. <br />Well, the evidence has...if I may mention the ennormous good work <br />that COSC has done. COSC, starting the summer before last, began <br />to put memorandum before the old Board about the incredible, <br />indeed, it was called scandalous at the time in the newspapers, <br />scandalous problem that the majority of mining operations in <br />Colorado, despite the existence of laws run back to 1969 for <br />coal, '73 for sand and gravel--the majority were unpermitted and <br />still are today. That evidence was put before the Board in <br />formal form again in November by EDF and by COSC. The Board <br />responded to it and said "our first priority is not enforcement, <br />it's getting the 1973 Act regulations pass." The legislature <br />had that very same evidence. It's very detailed, COSC did a <br />very thorough review of the files, sand and gravel operations were <br />documented... yes, the answer, Dr. Ward, is the legislature and <br />the old Board has really had this information now for well over <br />a year with regard to all of the unpermitted operations and knew <br />that there would be in the early months of your job, that they <br />really gave you a hot potato game of catch-up ball, you and the <br />staff, knew that there would be a. flood of applications, but there <br />comes a time when you really have to catch-up, I think that was <br />their judgment. <br />