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Vw- e1- Root - Da 3 '? <br />Routt County Conservation District <br />1475 Pine Grove Road Suite 201A - Steamboat Springs CO 80487 - Phone: (970) 879-3225 - Fax: (970) 879-2517 <br />Date: February 23, 2009 <br />To: CO Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety RECEIVE: <br />Attn: Russ Means FEB Z 6 60 t-? <br />Subject: Amendment to Camilletti Milner #2 Gravel Pit Uvjsjon of Reclamation, <br />Special Use Permit # PP 2005-078 Mhft and &- ty c/ <br />We have reviewed the Amendment and have several issues with what is being requested. <br />Reclamation of all slopes should be 3:1 to allow for landscape sustainability and vegetation establishment where <br />appropriate. A 2:1 slope is not as aesthetically pleasing, nor stable. It is also harder for vegetation to establish. All <br />~- - <br />- current-reclcsmation-at-this-pit-has-been-with-slopes-at 3:1.-The•pit-has-done'an-excellent job of-reclaiming-areas thus for, <br />and we believe that every effort will be carried forward on additional work:. However, we would like to request that a <br />3:1 slope be utilized for the reclaimed workz. <br />The presence of the gas pipeline in the middle of the proposed area to be mined for gravel is unfortunate. However, we <br />request that this pipeline be relocated or condemned unusable by the Colorado Oil & Gas Commission, if such an <br />alternative is feasible prior to any mining activates at the new site. It is not feasible to "work: around" this pipeline, as <br />only a 100 ft buffer would be required. A 100 ft buffer is not sufficient to protect this gas line from mining activities <br />when activities are occurring on both sides of it. Excavating that close to the pipeline decreases the ground stability and <br />therefore the integrity of the pipeline. The only alternative would be to only mine one side of the area that the gas <br />pipeline runs through or relocate the whole pipeline as proposed in the mapping. <br />We see nothing wrong with increasing the size of the area mined at one time from 25 to 35 acres. We don't feel that this <br />is an issue because it would not cause any additional visual impacts. The area is already fairly visually hidden from <br />most traffic, and an additional 10 acres would not change this fact. <br />The request to extend the hours of operation is a concern. It is our understanding that during the public hearing process <br />this was the issue that held the most contention with homeowners within the area. We see nothing wrong with <br />increasing the hauling time from 7:30 am to 7:00 pm Monday - Saturday. We do have a problem with the <br />amendments request to increase the crushing the hours from 7:30 am - 5:00 pm Monday - Friday to 7:30 am - 7:00 pm <br />Monday - Saturday. In our opinion this is excessive. Crushing should be allowed from 7:30 am - 7:00 pm Monday - <br />Friday matching the hours of operation for the pit and from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm on Saturdays if it is truly needed to <br />keep up with the demands of the business. We understand that no noise complaints have been received, but we feel <br />that was largely due to no crushing on Saturdays. Everybody wants to be able to enjoy the outdoors, and in an area <br />--that gets-a-significant amount of-recreational-traffic from-homeowners arid-oisltors we feel-that-this is a good-- <br />compromise. <br />The current activities associated with the gravel pit have been very positive to the area. The new road to HWY 40 has <br />been beneficial to not only the haul trucks but also the residents who live on 179 and the residences within Milner as <br />traffic has decreased. Current reclamation has been outstanding. In our experience it is seldom that a gravel pit goes to <br />such lengths to reclaim the property, a minimal amount of effort is put in and the Camilletti pit should be commended <br />for their efforts. <br />For the Routt County Conservation District: <br />Jim Rossi, President <br />Conservation - Development - Self-Government