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<br />~aeq see.,m.,. nrt.. a
<br />Bled Fora} '
<br />Coloreds Springs, Celor,do 80908
<br />_. ,.~,,_r ,,,,.~
<br />December.-21, 1977 ~`~,.~.._ ~- 7
<br />DEC ~~ . ,
<br />Mined Land Reelamation,BOard
<br />1313 Sherman Street fr~ii~;?:.,;.;~~,,.., "" '~;;~„~
<br />Denver, Colorado - 80203 Gai_ ~ ....:. ..... ... ... ..
<br />Dear Sirs,
<br />i have today"attended the hearing held by-poa'.here
<br />is Colorado Springs. I as writing as a private
<br />citizen,to suggest to you two lines of inquiry,
<br />vhich..appeared to receive inadequate attention.
<br />during the time vhen.-.I van in attendance. i hope
<br />pour staff will find it possible to explore them,
<br />if they have not already done so.
<br />Let me begin by stating mp poeition.on the~quarrytng~
<br />activities of the Castle Concrete Company~.•iA thee.
<br />Rampart Range. primarilyrbecanse these activities
<br />have a detrimental effect on the visual eurrnundiaga
<br />of the people who are concentrated in the: Pike's
<br />Peak region, I am firmly opposed to their continuation.
<br />A great many people choose to live in this area-:
<br />becauBe of the natural beauty of the-nearby-mountains.
<br />The aesthetic impact of these mountains ia, is my•
<br />v#ev, directly. dependent::upon their being lefty. ua+
<br />marred by human activities, To give approval to
<br />strip-pining operations carried out on the moeti
<br />visible aide of what'.map be the best-kaowm mountain
<br />in Colorado, therefore, ie to encourage the
<br />indoctrination .of one-quarter of a million people
<br />in their capacity to tolerate ugliness.
<br />Having acknorledged myconviction~.that you should
<br />disapprove the currently pending applications from
<br />Castle Concrete, I should like to describe two
<br />factors which support this vlevpoiat.
<br />The first has to do with"the imposaibilitp:~o!
<br />reclamation. Aeenlei ,.g the thr ^oo.ea:ay.rere=
<br />genninely~convinced o! the value~of reclamationTr
<br />as asanmpt on bee ed by the activities of the
<br />CompanyY on Pike •s Peak to date--there ie no
<br />economically feasible xay, even with the best of
<br />intentiiona
<br />,to re-blend the site into its aurr~oundiagsr
<br />
<br />_ y _ n L' :.1977
<br />~..; ..l I Gi'~.1 '._ .. ....
<br />~, _:.:
<br />after quarrying operations are complete. ~'rWhat'ia
<br />being proposed instead ie a token effort. Ia the
<br />case of the pneea's Canyon site, the Company offers
<br />to create limestone terraces. The horizontal
<br />portion of these terraces would be covered with a
<br />residual material made up largely of quartzite.
<br />Its abilitp~to support vegetation; whether-trees
<br />er grasses, ie dependent..npoa decompoeition-of the',
<br />quartzite, a process than viii require-centuries
<br />to produce eoi 1. The vertical portion of the
<br />terraces, which is essentially ail that will be
<br />visible, would be left bare. As a procedure
<br />intended to accomplish rehabilitation of the site,
<br />the Company's proposal is plainly a futile gesture-.
<br />However, the activities to date of Castle concrete
<br />described is recent;: news stories Hake it clear that
<br />preeervation~o! natural beauty ie not vhatl-.notivatea
<br />the Company. Rather, they appear to be intent oa~
<br />doing the minimal ammount o! reclamation. possible,
<br />that will still allow them to maintain that they
<br />are in cenplianea with the law. The beat way to
<br />predict. chat thep~-vill do in the lutnre 1e to look
<br />carefully at'vhat they have dose in the past, It.
<br />would be important to explore with then such questions
<br />as the following,
<br />a) Have they undertaken at their ova expense::
<br />nap ai~nifi~caat research into how to
<br />rehab 111 tare the three-Pike•a Peak siren
<br />in an effective manner?
<br />b) Nhy have theyybeen willing to accept the
<br />failure of reclamation effortsuntil Hoye
<br />c) Either_on behalf o! Castle Concrete, or 1te
<br />parent corporation in Chieagv, can one-
<br />ideatifp?euccesefnl exanpiee o! reclamation
<br />carried out~by then .e lsevhern?
<br />"'~£ ---'- fwvLvi u.uc derervea 1nV8at1gat10A,
<br />therefore, has to do with consideration.. of alterna=
<br />rive Bites, Surely there are other•:locatione iron
<br />xhich limestone and aggregate could be extracted
<br />for conatk6~etion use, xhich are mot ao diamally~
<br />olfensive"~aa these. Hor much consideration hae~
<br />been given to then?
<br />
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