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1111111111111111111 ~, ~~~~ mine x~~~ ~~?~~'~tin $y PAM PEM$$RTON TGe Pue4(e C~~iefiuin TRINIDAD ~-- The under- ground coal miners of yester- year left behind n maze of tunnels and hote5 in Las Animas that ate dageatvus tb nnyona wlib ntighl tislk Into the atea. Denver coal miner William Davis ititist have felt like he tell into onC; bf those shafts 'at a planning commission hearing ficre Wednesday. fits proposal to strip mine Ir, BCres hear 1•isheis Peak, ah area landatark, nirt Jro wcoth i " ~j_51iotit lQf)_ grey iesiilenTs, ` ~ i r iaho Insist thdyr~e ones geu ting the shaft. Davis, owner o}"'tre fQthil'OCr~' S Coal Co., has proposed a striR ~, mine three miles southeast o00000777~~~ Trinidid in the historic i3aglr~- ` villa nuniflg district. Oppapents of the permit, by _EBngtQr~ltf~€dont ~ Montoyya, say the strip mina will ilet'atts the foothills of Fisl>~ ets Peak. Montoya niaiutaitis teat Ilia i mine would cause a sct9r~h t)le face oP the peak The datituga .l would hurt warf~+t, he said H~ xii tin pprd Pleaseaee Mine, _.. • Mi~pe Continued from Pagc SA view from his home and trucks from the mine operation will rum- ble down the county road adja• cent to his home. Davis purchased the mine site in 1957, with the intention of re- moving the remainine veins of coal from old underground mines. Davis said the proposed mine is more than 3 miles from Fishers Peak, in a hidden valley, at an elevation 3,027 feet below the peak. "1 certainly understand the con- cern about Fishers Peak, but this thing is hidden," he said. Remain- ine ruins of the historic town are not on his properly and would not be disturbed, he added. Davis would be required to re- claim all land within 250 feet of his permit site, which means he will have to reclaim areas previ- ously mined by others, "I have to clean up what the old timers didn't have to." The area is filled with old mine shafts, considered a danger io anyrnte walking in the area, and subsidence areas, where the hill- side has fallen in due to under- ground mining. The Rimrock e:ha5~9d~ received appx„ ~ o (hehe. State Mined #$!vi- i i sr and needs only county royal. The Las Animas Coun- ty Planning Commission tabled i any action ott the permit until pa~i6 ,Hopes to self the coal to istlalalarkets, htciading tht power plants in Trinidad and Raton. However, Engleville coal puts out a very high BTU rating of ]2,OOD' or higher and has a fairly high ash content, which may eliminate its use by the two power plants.