2001-05-08_PERMIT FILE - M2001054 (12)

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SITE DESCRIPTION: Water Resources: Bridalveil seek, an ephemeral or intermittent drainage, traverses alongside or through the proposed operation. Bridalveil creek is an extremely unstable drainage with no defined channel from year to year. The short, intense storms produced during the typical rainy season of San Juan Mountains tend to produce flows in Bridalveil creek that transport rocks and loose material from slopes above the proposed operation and deposit it within or adjacent to the proposed area of operation. This type of flow results in the stream channel moving hundreds of feet laterally during a typical intense storm event. For the most part runoff is subsurface and infiltrates into the debris from previous events. It is estimated that the debris from previous events have been deposited into an average thickness greater than 100 feet over the proposed area as a typical alluvial Fan. The Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District in association with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) has identified this drainage as an M(3+) zone. This type of zone is characterized by floodwaters, which contain large amounts of mud or debris and may transport boulders in excess of 4 feet in diameter. Typical 100-year Flood hydrograph analysis by the Corps of Engineers estimates that an even[ of this size would produce a peak Flow of approximately 480 cfs from a drainage of 0.74 square miles. ~ Soil and Vegetation Type: The proposed area of operation is comprised of an entisolic soil type with a large percentage of coarse fragments (> 30%). The area has little to no topsoil and the shallow soil development without a typical soil profile is commonly associated with alluvial fans produced by debris flows and transported material. As stated above, the Bridalveil creek 100-year flood plain encompasses the whole area of proposed operation and for this reason the soils or materials of the area are composed of a jumbled mass of transported rock, silt and sand. In association with the soil type described above, the common flood occurrences of the Bridalveil creek drainage have seated a mostly pine and spruce forest, It is common for all trees in an area to be of the same age since the last major flood occurrence. Due to the lack of soil development cool season grasses, forbs, and aspens are sparsely found throughout the area. Ground cover from low growing vegetation in most areas is less than 10% and in some large expanses, no grasses or forbs are found due to the continually moving nature of the drainage. Permaeeet Manmade Structures: There are numerous dwellings within 200 feet of the proposed operation. On the north side of the proposed operation single family dwellings occupy the lots described on Map A, General Location, as Cockle, Davis and Palmer, Sw[t, Ramsey, and Meyer. Other structures on the west side of the operation include the Riverside Inn, a motel and gas station, and an RV campground on the Keffeler property. All other properties shown on Map A are undeveloped at this time except for the Blackford property that is used as a staging yard for a local contractor. Other Informatioe: The proposed operation is located within the limits of the City of Ouray and is zoned as C-2. This type of zoning is characterized as Commercial -Industrial and Ouray's land use code allows extractive industries. Due to [he nature of Bridalveil Creek, prudent use of the property precludes most other uses allowed under C-2. Wildlife Issues: Due to the nature of the property and the fact and the proposed limited impact operation lies within the Ouray city limits no statement from the Colorado Division of Wildlife is included. U.S. Department of Army, Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, Office Report, "Hydrology, Ouray, Ouray County, Colorado, January, 1997"