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(--L?q81-00e <br />P/Z _Co <br />Western Fuels-Colorado WVVV <br />P.O. Box 628 AUG 0 g 2010 <br />Nucla, Colorado 81424 n hKq, <br />August 9, 2010 avid BM60Y R&te,ve-4 11 <br />Re: Reclamation of Morgan Property Dear Lance Wade, Duane Richards, and all concerned parties: <br /> <br />We would like to clarify some of the disputed issues and the items that have been left unresolved. <br />These things have been told to Marcia, Sandy, Dan, and WFC and have been overlooked or not <br />heard. Mr. Morgans house use to be in the NH1 area adjacent to the Ma Garveys place. This <br />area was beautiful alfalfa fields and pastures and as a result of Peabody surface coal mining, it <br />was restored to rocks, dirt, dryland, and very little vegetation other that sagebrush and some <br />native grasses. It is and has been an eye sore for all the Nucla people and none of us could <br />believe that this beautiful land could be put back so ugly and devastated most of us. Even you, <br />Lance and Ross, can you even imagine beautiful alfalfa fields and pastures being there? No, I bet <br />not. Then they moved Mr. Morgans house to where it is now. <br />Frank Morgan leased San Miguel Power Property that you have mined, before Michael was even <br />in high school. He provided all of the water for that property. When WFC took over the leases <br />of Peabody and acquired more leases which was the San Miguel Power property, it had been <br />harvested and in pasture lands through 1987 and then cropped into the 1990's until Mr. Morgan <br />was told to dry it up and he would have to leave it because WFC was going to mine it. This was <br />and still is cropland.. <br />Numerous acreages of beautiful farmland had been destroyed by surface coal mining in this area. <br />Most of this was done prior to the laws signed by President Carter in 1977 enforcing rules and <br />regulations to govern surface coal mining and protect the landowner and their rights. <br />With the Federal and State Government overseeing all of the mining industry and watching WFC <br />do the mining East of 2700 road, Mr. Morgan felt it was quite safe to enter a lease with WFC, the <br />operator, in 1998 allowing them to mine the coal off his prime farmland. Cropland that was <br />consistently irrigated. All irrigation was in place by the Morgans and according to a statement <br />made by the USDA, the Morgans fields were irrigated very efficiently. The Morgans also had <br />the most prime farmland in this area being mined by WFC. Frank Morgan is still the largest <br />share holder of the CCC Ditch. <br />Colorado Statutes House Bill number 1223 known as the Colorado Surface Coal Mining <br />Reclamation Act was signed into law on August 3, 1977 by President Carter. The Surface <br />Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is the Primary Federal Law. Even though, within <br />the Acts are rules and regulations governing mining, they were incorporated into the Colorado <br />Statutes and therefore are laws which every state that has a regulatory program are expected to <br />take the lead in the regulation and the Federal government oversees their efforts. The State, such <br />as Colorado, must demonstrate that they have a law at least as strict as the Federal government. <br />Article 33 guarantees the protections of the landowner to the fullest extent of the law and the <br />land owners rights. It also guarantees that the land will be restored as good as or better than it <br />was.