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SECTIONTHREE <br />Scoping Results <br />• It is believed that the additional income in the form of taxes, energy impact grants, <br />severances taxes and royalty payments will greatly benefit this community. <br />• There will be over 250 people employed who buy homes in the azea. That means they all <br />pay property taxes and that money goes to schools. This project will help the local <br />school districts. <br />• The construction of the mine will employ local contractors to do excavation, reclamation, <br />concrete, electrical, framing, and a host of other services. In total, the construction phase <br />will likely extend several yeazs and help aid the already booming Mesa County <br />constmction industry. <br />• Each year millions of dollars aze returned to Mesa County through severance taxes. In <br />FY 2005, the Dept. of Local Affairs returned $2.7 million through severance tax direct <br />distributions. In FY 2006, that number has more than doubled. If the coal mine were <br />placed in Loma, the majority of the workers would live in Mesa County thus adding to <br />the overall severance tax received by the area. <br />^ • The economic impact this project could have on Mesa County and the surrounding <br />counties it serves goes far beyond the jobs and wages it provides for its employees. Not <br />' only will the mine employees spend money here, but also the actual coal mine, <br />construction employees and construction sub-contractors will as well. <br />' • The BLM has to acknowledge the potential benefits of this construction in the EIS. In <br />order to complete the construction, CAM will have to use the services of water haulers, <br />cement specialists, safety personnel, construction firms, and heavy equipment companies. <br />' • Some of the projects funded last yeaz by the Energy and Mineral Assistance Program <br />included upgrades in hardware and software for our county's EMS system, restoration of <br />' the old Riverside School, and the replacement of leaky roofs on the old Department of <br />Energy building in Grand Junction. Projects like these could not have been completed <br />without these grants. These grants are funded based on energy and mineral development <br />' within their respective counties. With more development, such as the Red Cliff Mine, <br />Mesa County is positioned to benefit from increased funding. <br />• The proposed Red Cliff Mine will increase Mesa County's ability to receive more dollazs <br />' from Colorado's Energy and Mineral Assistance Program. <br />• The EIS for this project should consider environmental related socioeconomic impacts to <br />the local communities such as housing for project workers, schools, burdening existing <br />waste and wastewater handling facilities, and increased road traffic with associated dust <br />and hazazdous materials spill potential. <br />3.2.1 Property Values <br />• Property value could potentially decrease by 40% due to the rail spur being approved. <br />• The railroad line and its use would be an eyesore and a noise source. Both effects would <br />reduce property values in an area of prospective subdivision for residential development, <br />' both along 10 Road and along US 6 (M.8 Rd.) Mitigation should include relocation or at <br />least vegetative screening. <br />' 3-3 <br />