Laserfiche WebLink
We feel it is unreasonable to limit the disturbed area to twenty five (25) <br />acres for any pit producing multiple products such as Pit #2, unless the visual <br />impacts of the pit are substantial. The proposed expansion area will be most <br />logically mined by creating an extraction/pit area in the new acreage and <br />keeping the processing, stockpiling, loading and haul truck turnaround within <br />the existing pit. We propose a condition that the disturbed area in the new <br />acreage would not exceed 25 acres and the disturbed area for the existing <br />processing, loading and operations areas would not exceed 35 acres. It is our <br />experience that the current processing, loading and operations areas are unsafely <br />and inefficiently constrained by the 25 acre limitation due to the demands of the <br />marketplace for the multiple products described above. <br />The other requested amendment relates to existing condition #7, hours of <br />operation. We would ask that crushing be allowed from 7:00 a.m. till 7:00 p.m. <br />on Mondays-Saturdays. Saturday crushing is requested as it has proven nearly <br />impossible to keep adequate stockpiles of processed materials on site. Many <br />other pits are allowed to crush materials on Saturdays, unlike Pit #2. (For <br />example, the Connell / Camilletti Pit in Hayden was recently permitted to crush <br />materials on Saturdays from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m.) No noise complaints have been <br />lodged concerning Pit #2 or the crushing operation, which occurs in the bottom <br />of the pit. Additionally, we request that loading and hauling hours be extended <br />by one hour to allow loading and hauling until 7:00 p.m. (rather than 6:00 p.m.), <br />Monday through Saturday, similar to other pits. The Applicants are not asking <br />for any change to the current 7:30 a.m. daily opening time for loading and <br />hauling. <br />Devising appropriate conditions for newly proposed gravel pits is difficult <br />as the impacts of any new pit are uncertain and difficult to assess. The County <br />rightfully is conservative and restrictive when issuing new permits due to the <br />uncertainty of impacts. In 2000-2001, Milner Pit #2 was highly scrutinized to <br />evaluate possible impacts. As with most gravel pit requests in Routt County, Pit <br />#2 was met with multiple property owner objections and significant restrictive <br />conditions were imposed. However, since operations commenced in 2001, there <br />have been virtually no complaints or identified violations concerning Milner Pit <br />#2. The proposed expansion area is even further from the Town of Milner and <br />Routt County Road 179 than the current pit area. The land is not prime <br />agricultural land nor a major riparian corridor. Rather, it is a sparsely vegetated <br />(primarily sagebrush), relatively level site lying between Trout Creek and <br />hillsides to the south. The aerial photo submitted with this narrative shows that <br />all land to the west and south is either owned by Camilletti and Sons or is leased <br />from the State by the Camillettis. The proposed expansion will not increase any <br />"impacts" from the pit, but will simply extend the life of the pit while providing <br />necessary gravel products for the County. <br />We have been in contact with local representatives of the Colorado <br />Division of Minerals and Geology who monitor our existing reclamation plan <br />and will consider our request for a reclamation permit for the expansion area. <br />Our request for an amendment with the State to our existing reclamation permit <br />is being filed concurrently with this request to the County. Enclosed is the most