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'~ <br />STATE OF COLORADO <br />Roy Romer, Governor <br />Para $hwayder, Executive Director <br />Dedicated to poacting and impn~ving the health and environment olthe people of Cabrado <br />4700 Cherry Creek Dr. 5. Laboratory and Radiation Services Division <br />Dever, Colorado 80246.1530 8100 Lowry Blvd. <br />Phone 17071 692-2000 Denver CO 80220-6928 <br />Located in Glendale, Colorado 13031 692-3090 <br />http://www.cdphestatem.w <br />March 4, 1998 <br />Mr. Jerry Worthley <br />567 Yale Place Apt. 202 <br />Canon City, Colorado 81212 <br />4`oc co <br />,~ <br />. ~ . <br />'taut:' <br />Colorado Depuanent <br />of Public Health <br />and Environment <br />AE: Responea to concerns about the impacts of the Parkdale Project <br />Dear lSr. Worthley: <br />Your letter of February 18, 1998 requesting that an Environmental Impact <br />Statement (EIS) be undertaken to evaluate the impacts of the gravel mine and <br />processing operation proposed by the Agile Stone Systems in Parkdale, Colorado <br />has been referred to me for response. I also noted your concerns about the <br />potential impacts to your well, and the request for the Water Quality Control <br />Division (WQCD) to intervene with the Division of Minerals and Geology (DMG) on <br />the issuance of the mined land reclamation permit. <br />In preparing the response to your letter I tried to ascertain the actual <br />water quality impacts of the proposed gravel mining operation on both surface and <br />ground water in the area. I learned that the WQCD has issued a discharge permit <br />to cover the proposed discharge to Tallahassee Creek. The permit specifies the <br />pollutant loading to the creek from the mining operation and typically includes <br />limits for total suspended solids (TSS), pH, and oil and grease. Under the <br />permit, Agile Stone Syeteme will be required to monitor the discharge and file <br />periodic reports with the WQCD. Enforcement action can be taken if they fail to <br />submit the discharge monitoring reports on schedule. Issuance of the permit helps <br />ensure that the discharge will not have an adverse impact on the stream. <br />I were also concerned about the impacts to ground water, and learned from <br />the DMG that the mining operation will not breach the ground water. The <br />turbidity that you refer to in your letter ie moat likely the result of the land <br />disturbance that accompanies a gravel mining operation. This is normally very <br />minimal ere the silts and colloidal material are bound up in the soil and don't <br />enter the well. The overall impacts from turbidity will depend on the distance <br />of your well from the mining operation, needless to say, the further away the <br />better. As a precautionary measure, you may want to teat your well for sediment <br />and retain this record ere a reference. If the level rises once the mining <br />operation begins, you will have a baseline measure from which to Beek recourse. <br />i consulted with the U.S. EPA on the criteria for requesting an EIS and was <br />told that they are undertaken when a federal facility, federal funds or a <br />federally regulated activity is involved. For this project, the request far an <br />EIS should be directed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) who will <br />evaluate and act on the application for a dredge and fill permit needed for the <br />abutments that will support the two bridges proposed at the gravel mining site. <br />Our records indicate that the permit application for the dredge and fill permit <br />hoe not yet been filed. If you are interested in pursuing this avenue, i suggest <br />that you contact Anita Culp at the COE office in Pueblo. That address and phone <br />number are: <br />