2009-11-06_PERMIT FILE - M2009076 (2)

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-2- a. Venture Resources statement: "For a Present land use Mining was selected, as that most closely matched our current local zoning." What is required under item no. thirteen of the permit application form is that applicants designate the primary present use of the proposed area of affected land; local zoning is not necessarily relevant. Since the proposed affected land is not currently being mined (if it were being mined, Venture Resources would be in violation of the Act), the designation that best describes the primary current status of the land must be selected from the check-list provided in item no. thirteen of the permit application form. Based on the site description provided by Venture Resources in Exhibit B to the permit application, rangeland is the appropriate designation. b. Venture Resources statement: "It was stated with a hand written comment that "Existing M-i/M-2 Clear Creek County Mining/Res. Zoning" was the Futue [sic] land use." What is required under item no. twelve of the permit application form is that applicants designate the primary post-mining use of the proposed area of affected land relating to how the land will be reclaimed. It is axiomatic that mining is not acceptable as a post-mining land use. Residential use is an acceptable post-mining land use, but the reclamation plan Venture Resources has provided in Exhibit D to the permit application does not support that designation; based on the reclamation plan provided, rangeland is the appropriate designation. c. Venture Resources statement: "You summarize in your letter that you have communicated with the Clear Creek County Planning and Zoning Department and have become educated as to the M-1 and M- 2 zoning designations that are enforced here. You also seemingly dismiss our concerns that a selection of a differing land use description provided on the Application Form will cause potential zoning violations with Clear Creek County by stating: "The DRMS has confirmed with Clear Creek County Planning and Zoning Department that the selection of rangeland or any other non-cultural land use, such as wildlife habitat, will not result in any misunderstandings with that Department. " Under what authority can your office make such a guarantee?" DRMS discussed this issue with Clear Creek County Planning and Zoning Department personnel as a courtesy to Venture Resources; the discussion occurred during a teleconference initiated by County personnel relating to questions they had on another matter, and DRMS deemed it would be helpful to Venture Resources to broach the subject in an effort to determine if Venture Resources' concerns with Clear Creek County's reaction or potential reaction to pre- and post-mining land use designations in a mined land reclamation permit application were legitimate. Clear Creek County and the MLRB/DRMS regulatory processes are separate; Venture Resources must comply with both regulatory authorities. Venture Resources can take the DRMS report of the courtesy discussion with Clear Creek County in any way it chooses, but designation of a post-mining land use other than mining remains a requirement to obtain a mined land reclamation permit. d. Venture Resources statement: "I had mentioned in my October 15th letter that our application for M- 2008-037 was processed by the DRMS containing the same information for land use without pause. This leads us to believe that there are no clear definitions or regulations addressing these items and the consideration of the same by the DRMS is highly discretionary depending on the individual reviewer and their own motivations. This is unfortunate." Designation of pre- and post-mining land use under