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T.ia <br />T H E K I M B E R L Y A . M C I N T Y R E L A W O F F I C E <br />Phone: 480-226-6729 www.mcintyrelaw.net email: kim@mcintyrelaw.net <br />June 30, 2009 <br />BY EMAIL AND MAIL <br />G. Russell Means, Environmental Protection Specialist II <br />Steve Shuey, Sr. Environmental Protection Specialist, West Team Supervisor <br />Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety <br />101 South 3rd St. Suite 301 <br />Grand Junction, CO 81501 <br />RE: Offsite Damage Complaint - Yule Marble Quarry, Permit M-1999-058 <br />Dear Mr. Means and Mr. Shuey: <br />This letter is to update you on the marble quarry's lack of cooperation and its <br />failure to mitigate the damages and safety hazards caused by its operations. We <br />need some answers. We have gotten nothing but silence from the quarry. <br />First, because the quarry failed to secure the Trail, we have barricaded it to <br />prevent people from accessing the damaged bridges and walking into and under <br />the quarry's debris. We were forced to do this because the wire fencing placed <br />across the Trail by the quarry allowed people to simply peel the wire aside and <br />continue onto the Trail. In fact, we witnessed at least 20 people who after <br />reaching our barricade, turned back and proceeded up the quarry's private access <br />road up to-its active portal. And the trespassers may be a hundred-fold worse this <br />upcoming Fourth of July weekend if action isn't taken to secure the area. <br />Second, we assessed the quarry damage to other areas of our property. As <br />suspected from seeing the pile of debris on the footbridge in May, the quarry <br />debris has also destroyed a section of the footbridge, including its 8" x 12" beam <br />foundation. This area will require clearing the debris, as well as rebuilding a 20- <br />foot section of the footbridge. Also, the slurry running off the cliff has eroded <br />through the Trail leaving slurry and a damaged trail surface. These areas too are in <br />need of extensive repairs, which were not included in the original cost estimate. <br />In addition, we followed the public highway trail up through the National <br />Forest to the quarry viewing portal and noticed extensive slurry running onto the <br />trail and into the Forest. This area is not our property, but we wanted to make you <br />aware of it to contact the appropriate authorities. (Gunnison County has <br />jurisdiction over the public highway trail all the way to the quarry's viewing <br />portal, while the land belongs to the U.S. Forest Service.)