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2.04.3 General Requirements: Site Description and Land Use Information <br />(1) The permit and adjacent area lie within western Mesa County. Private lands <br />are under the jurisdictions of Mesa County and the city of Fruita. <br />Existing land uses within the permit and adjacent area consist of industrial, <br />agricultural, rangeland, fish and wildlife and a transportation corridor. <br />The site and surrounding areas consist of relatively level ground with an <br />overall gradient to the southwest. There is some weedy vegetation and native <br />shrubs covering parts of the site, along with Tamarisk trees and other native <br />grasses and shrubs lining the surface waterways. These surface water bodies <br />include Reed Wash and the Loma Drain, both traversing the site in a general <br />northeast - southwest direction and flowing toward the nearby Colorado River. <br />The ground surface elevation averages approximately 4,470 feet above mean <br />sea level at the site. <br />The site adjoins the former Fruita Refinery to the east. To the south there are <br />former evaporation ponds and undeveloped areas. There are private <br />residential and rural agricultural lands to the west and northwest. A main <br />railroad corridor and highway easement are located to the north, beyond <br />which are agricultural lands. <br />The site and adjacent lands were undeveloped or in agricultural use prior to <br />the start of a refinery operation in 1957 by the American Gilsonite Company. <br />The refinery originally processed gilsonite (i.e., bitumen: a naturally- occurring <br />solid or semi -solid hydrocarbon) ore into liquid products and petroleum coke. <br />Gilsonite was mined and transported via pipeline, in slurry form about 72 <br />miles from the Bonanza mining district to the refinery complex from 1957 to <br />1973. The refinery was later converted to process conventional crude oils into <br />liquids and coke. Gary Energy Corporation (Gary) purchased the operation in <br />December 1973 and produced gasoline and diesel fuel, jet fuel, naphtha, <br />vacuum gas oil, heavy fuel oil, calcined petroleum coke and liquefied <br />petroleum gas. Refinery operations continued through about 1993, with <br />several owners /operators including Gary, WSRC, and Landmark Petroleum. <br />Permit Application 2.04 -1 04/11 <br />