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<br />;:. <br />~ III IIIIIIIIIIIII III <br />James R. Taylor <br />INDEPENDENT GEOLOGIST <br />382 DENVER CLUB BUILDING <br />518 17TH STREET <br />DENVER, COLORADO 80202 <br />PHONE (303) 892-7137 <br />April 3, 1990 <br /> <br />• <br />F~M~~~~-rv~ <br />/ ~ <br />~~~ ~~ <br />Lt i '/ <br />~ V <br />iPR 5 1990 <br />.'U,lFyc~ <br />^• ~ Lq~C <br />"i <br />The County Commissioners of Elbert County <br />P.O. Box 597 RE: COUNTY OPEN PIT SAND ~ GRAVEL MINE <br />Kiowa, CO 80117 AT ROADS 69 fi 94 - FONDIS GRAVEL PIT <br />Ladies ~ Gentlemen: N0. M-88-101. 12-13-88 <br />On May 24, 1989, I wrote a letter to you expressing my concerns as <br />to the operation of the above-referenced Fondis Gravel Pit, owned and <br />operated by Elbert County (copy enclosed). You commissioners, collec- <br />tively, chose to mostly ignore my concerns and the county is back in <br />there conducting more mining. <br />On March 31, 1990, as I was driving down Road 69, it looked like <br />severe erosion was occurring from your mine, depositing sand and gravel <br />into Spring Branch, West Bijou Creek. Upon closer inspection, that <br />is exactly what is happening. Hundreds of tons of sand and gravel are <br />in the creek bed, partly because berms were never built on either side <br />of the pit (compliance?) and partly because the site selection was <br />and is unmanageable. The clastic deposition into the stream bed is of <br />concern to me because I own wetlands and a pond down stream, and the <br />first flash flood that occurs will destboy it by re-deposition of the <br />sediment. <br />All kinds of migratory birds, including great blue herons, presently <br />occupy this wetlands. <br />I am a registered geologist and experienced in mining and I believe <br />that irreversible damage has occurred and that this site was never <br />feasible for mining due to its topography, tree cover and proximity to the <br />stream bed. Exhibit D, Mine Reclamation, calls for stabilization struc- <br />tures from steel or concrete, etc. to deter massive corrosion. <br />If, you do not voluntarily suspend mining operations, clean-up the <br />stream bed and start reclamation of this site within thirty days of <br />receipt of this letter, the concerned citizens of Fondis and I will do <br />the following: <br />1. Call for a full scale investigation of this permit. <br /> <br />~~;• <br />2. Demand that the state cancel this permit and supervise the <br />reclamation. They are already aware of the problem and share <br />,,i our concern. <br />..,s .. <br />