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~~~~ <br />W~`P~. <br />COLORADO <br />January 16, 2008 <br />Mr. Carl Mount <br />Colorado Dept. of Reclamation, Mining, and Safety <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 215 <br />Denver, CO 80203 <br />Mr. Mount, <br />PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT <br />1111 H STREET, P.O. BOX 758 <br />GREELEY, COLORADO 80632 <br />WEBSITE: WWW.CO.WELD.CO.US <br />PHONE: (970) 356-4000, EXT. 3750 <br />FAX: (970) 304-6497 <br />The Weld County Public Works Department received a citizen complaint this summer from Ross <br />Bachofer. Mr. Bachofer is a resident living on a parcel of land adjacent to the South Platte <br />River, north of Fort Lupton between Weld County Road (WCR) 16 and WCR 18. His 6.36-acre <br />parcel is on the east bank of the river across from the Fort Lupton Sand and Gravel Pit, in <br />Section 20, Township 2N, Range 66W. Please see the attached Figure 1 to reference the <br />approximate location of the property. <br />The Fort Lupton Sand and Gravel Pit, also known as the Andesite Pit, is currently under <br />operation by L.G. Everist, Inc., under DMG Permit #M-1999-120. The operation is currently <br />extracting sand and gravel by open pit resource extraction in the west overbank of the South <br />Platte River. <br />Public Works was initially contacted by Mr. Bachofer in June 2007. He experienced flooding on <br />his property following an April 25, 2007 storm associated with minor flooding in the overbanks of <br />the South Platte River. Mr. Bachofer is concerned that the blocking of conveyance on the west <br />overbank associated with activities in the Andesite Pit have forced floodwaters off the west <br />overbank, and back into the main channel and east overbank areas. He is further concerned <br />that these activities have accelerated the erosion of the east bank of the South Platte River on <br />his land, and that continued blockage of conveyance may harm his property and house. Please <br />reference the attached Figure 1 for specific locations of berming and erosion. <br />On a June 26, 2007, staff from Public Works visited the Bachofer property and observed <br />vegetated earthen berms on the Andesite property. A photo of those berms is attached to this <br />letter as Figure 2. Are these berms approved by the Division of Reclamation, Mining, and <br />Safety (DRMS) as part of the interim operating condition for the Andesite Pit? Are these berms <br />approved by the DRMS for their final reclamation plan? The resident is concerned that berming <br />may be diverting flow, and may be forcing water from the west overbank of the South Platte <br />River to portions of the main channel and east overbanks, impacting his property. <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />January 16, 2008 <br />M:\DAVE B\Flood\Bachofer Property\Letter to DRMS 01-16-2006.doc <br />