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STATE OF COl-O RADO RICHARD " MM. Gnvamm III III III III IIII III DEPARTh~ENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES 999 Harris D. Sherman. Eaecuti ve Dir ectnr A'Il!~;ED LAND RECLAMATION 423 Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street Denver, Colorado 80203 Tel. (3031 839-3567 Hamlet J. Barry, I I1, Director June 13, 1980 District Engineer U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Technical Assistance Program Omaha District 215 N. ]7th Street Omaha, Nebraska 68102 Attn: MROED RE: Changes in the stream morphology of St. Vrain Creek with associated stream bank erosion, buffer instability between adjacent ponds and the St. Vrain, and a pontenial increase in the flooding hazard for the surrounding lands. Dear Sir: The State of Colorado, Division of Mined Land Reclamation is requesting technical assistance with regard to the situation outlined above. Essen- tially, the Division would like to know if the above conditions can be directly linked (and if so, to what extent) to Weld County's sand and gravel mining operations located approximately 1 mile east of Colorado Interstate 25 and along and south of St. Vrain Creek at the SEc> SWi:, and SWz, SEA, Section 35, T3N, R681J and N~, NEB, Section 2, T2N, R68W, Weld County, Colorado, being also the location of the observed disturbance along the St. Vrain. Mining has occurred along the banks and in the creek bed of St. Vrain Creek. Active stream bank erosion with obvious downstream damage has occurred. Bank walls are approximately 4 feet verticle above the surface of the water,crumbly, lacking vegetation, and all indications are that this erosion is recent and on going. Bank erosion is evident from the point of disturbance at the west end of the mining operation and downstream to the east, well into the adjacent landowner's property. Erosion has occurred on both sides of the creek and mature cottonwood trees have fallen into the St. Vrain in full foliage, further indicating that the bank erosion has occurred recently. An old access road along the south side of the creek and north of the mining operation's approximate 10 acre pond has been rendered useless by the bank erosion. At one point on this road, a cut occurred, no doubt related to the channelized canal that has been created by the mining operation. The channelized canal allowed water to flow into the above mentioned pond which is used in the mine's processing operations, John Slovak (1-303-776-4183), who owns the land and pond adjacent to the (Gont'd) _ L. ~. ,~,,. ,