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~~s <br />,. ~ <br />December 10, 1994 <br />Mined Land Reclamation Boazd <br />Division of Minerals and Geology <br />1313 ShPr*r+an St Rm. 215 <br />Denver, CO 80302 <br />Greetings: <br />RF(~EI~/F_D <br />UtL 19 199a <br />Division Oi ~wmerci5 ;; ueUiouy <br />I protest the application of Mr. Steven Kinney to mine sand and gravel in the <br />proposed ORION PIT. My objection is based on several concerns that aze of <br />relevance to you. I have many more which aze not even close to your azea of <br />concern. <br />First, Mr. Kinney owns none of the land on which he seeks to mine gravel. He <br />does own a portion of the mineral rights. However, it makes no sense that this <br />allows him to destroy the surface of such a large azea without the co-operation or <br />consent of the surface owners. I do not see how this could be fair or just even if it <br />is legal, which is questionable. I believe that this issue is being pursued in court. <br />Until it is resolved, no permit can reasonably be issued. <br />My second concern is the presence of ponds, irrigation and ground water. The <br />azea included in the proposed mine contains a pond, the Henry Bolen irrigation <br />ditch and a very shallow water table. The Bolen ditch serves the rights of <br />irrigators further down the Mancos Valley. ff the destruction of the surface, that <br />is inevitable with this type of operation, is allowed, it will jeopazdue the right of <br />those irrigators to their water. Our property which is directly south of the <br />proposed pit, is subirrigated by the ground water as it makes its way to the <br />Marcos River. Numerous springs pop out of the hillside all along the bank <br />above the river. The source of the water for these springs is the azea that will be <br />disrupted by this mining operation. If this pit is allowed, it will have an adverse <br />impact on viability of our property as well as the rechazging of the Mancos <br />River. <br />My third concern is re]ated to the destruction of wildlife habitat. These pastures <br />aze the grazing and nesting ground of a large flock of Canada Geese. This flocl: is <br />very lazge and has prompted some local people to call the azea "the goose <br />fields". In addition the scattered trees provide resting and hunting perches for <br />bald eagles in the winter. <br />001.99 <br />1 <br />